Déjà Vu
by Sk8erGrl
Summary: Post-film & novel. Veronica and Logan attempt to define their relationship now that he's finally back in Neptune and Mars Investigations lands a big new case.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: It's been just under ten years since I've been out of the FanFiction writing game, almost as long as Veronica Mars had been out of our lives, but w****ith the movie and the book out there, I was feeling inspired. Not to mention that my shipper heart was not quite content enough to not sit down and start typing with all this new canon swirling around. This is post-film & "Million Dollar Tan Line," so beware of spoilers.**

**Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Rob Thomas & his merry band of misfits. **

_Chapter One_

180 days.

They had passed far more slowly than Veronica would have liked. An inbox flooded with e-mails and short, technically challenged Skype dates did not a relationship make and she was looking forward to leaving the computer screen behind and seeing Logan again in the flesh. And, of course, there were things that the pair needed to talk about. Even though she had been driving his car around for the last six months and unconsciously calling him her boyfriend, they had yet to have a real conversation about what they were doing, what this whole thing meant.

Wasn't that the MO of their relationship though? Dive in headfirst, think later. Then again, your relationship status wasn't something that you really discussed when your boyfriend was approximately 8, 000 miles away flying potentially dangerous missions for the Navy. _Or in the two blissful weeks you had together before he left either, apparently. _

After nine years of radio silence and a couple of near death experiences, you could hardly blame them for not trying to define things immediately. From the minute Veronica had stepped off the plane from New York and found him standing there in his Navy whites, she had felt that magnetic pull on her heart. The one that reminded her why she had ran from Neptune all those years ago. The one she had been denying the existence of for longer than she cared to admit. So, when she finally gave in, it was hard to stop. _And talking was never what Logan and I did best, anyway. _

Anxiously, Veronica tapped the tip of her pen against the notepad on her desk. She had absently been staring at the time on her laptop screen rather than do any real work. Not that she was worried about it. It was an open and closed case, one that she could do in her sleep. Her father had originally insisted on taking it, keen to do something other than office paperwork, but she was still trying to get him home by dinner every night and not taking photos outside of the seedy Camelot motel. Which, if she thought about it, sounded a lot like what her dad used to do when she was back in high school and supposed to only be helping him out around the office.

"Logan coming home today?" Keith Mars asked, dragging his daughter back into reality.

Her father was walking without the aid of the metal cane that he had had to rely on in the months following his devastating car accident. The same car accident that had taken the life of one Deputy Jerry Sacks. The same car accident that would have taken Keith's life had Logan not pulled him from the wreckage before a truck had slammed into it for a second time. Keith still didn't talk much about it with Veronica, but she knew that he suspected the accident had to do with his investigation into the corruption at the Sheriff's Department.

"At 1800. I'm supposed to pick him up later."

It was already four in the afternoon, just another two hours and she would be back in his arms again. The thought sent a wave of excitement down Veronica's spine, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She had missed him.

"Just remember," Keith warned his daughter as he made his way around behind her desk to kiss the top of her head and rub her shoulder gently, "You have a perfectly good bed of your own."

"I'll be home by curfew pops, I swear," she laughed and held one hand to her heart and one hand in the air. Even when you were 28, there were some things that never changed when it came to living at home with your over-protective former sheriff father.

"Yeah, you better be." Keith Mars' face betrayed his amusement as he took a seat across from his daughter's desk now. "Hey, I've been thinking…"

"Uh-oh, that's never a good idea, old man."

"With Logan coming back to town, you're going to need a new set of wheels," her father pointed out.

It was true, her days of driving the midnight blue BMW convertible were drawing to an end. Not that the sleek car had ever really been good for blending in the more grimy parts of Neptune on cases.

"Buy me a pony?" She grinned sweetly at him, batting her eyelashes the same way she had done all her life. Despite all that had happened over the past twelve years, a part of her would always be _that_ girl. A daddy's girl. The apple of Keith Mars' eyes. Though the last time she had asked for a pony, he had gotten her a gun instead.

"I was thinking of something a little more sensible."

"Well I can try and talk to Weevil tomorrow. He has his own shop, I think maybe he can help me dig up something affordable, safe and stylish for me. Or maybe I'll buy a motorcycle and get a few tattoos, I think he might know a guy for that, too."

"Very funny."

The phone rang now long after and for the next hour, both members of Mars Investigations were back to being hard at work. Since the Dewalt-Scott case all those months ago, things had definitely picked up slightly for them. At least enough so that they could keep up with their rent and pay Mac her well-earned salary. They had even been able to put food on the table.

Before she knew it, an hour had blown by and Veronica was grabbing her keys and running out the door, waving behind her to her best friend and her father. The anticipation of seeing Logan had grown too great and had rendered her useless when it came to casework. Besides, she wanted to leave now so that she could still arrive early if she managed to hit any evening traffic.

Her radio was turned up loud to some soft rock song as she drove, the wind blew through her hair and the sun warmed her face. In this single moment, Veronica was able to forget all about the corruption, the class war and everything else that was wrong in this small town she had grown up in. The town that seemed to pull her back into its dark pit every chance it got and consistently tried to tear her family, her life apart. Because in all its darkness, Neptune did have a beacon of light.

Their relationship had never been perfect, but somehow Logan Echolls had always served as a reminder to Veronica that there was still some good in Neptune. As screwed up as he might be, hell as screwed up as they both were, she felt safe when he was around. At home. And no matter how many other people didn't believe it, Veronica knew that he was a good person. That all he ever tried to do was protect the people in his life that he cared about. _Or protect himself from getting hurt_, Veronica reminded herself. That obligatory psychotic jackass routine of Logan's was a shield to keep the pain at bay.

"Excuse me, miss," a voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts. She had been standing outside the parked car for the last ten minutes or so, distracted by text messages on her phone. "I was wondering if you've seen my girlfriend. She's about ye high, blonde, cute as a button?"

Looking up, Veronica's face immediately broke into a grin. Her blue eyes met his brown for the first time in 180 days and all she felt was electricity. _And he called me his girlfriend._ A fact that had only made her smile grow a little wider as she slipped her phone back into her pocket and stood up a little straighter.

"I haven't seen anyone like that," she shook her head with a wry little smile, "But it just so happens that I'm the best private investigator this side of the country, I can help you track her down like that if you're willing to pay, Lieutenant." To accentuate her point, Veronica snapped her fingers.

"Oh really? You think you could?"

"Are you kidding, missing person case? That's cake. Facile."

The large duffle bag that Logan had been holding up until that moment fell onto the concrete by her feet as he moved in closer to her. One thing that hadn't changed at all nine years or even six months of him being away was that he was still a good foot taller than her so that Veronica had to crane her neck a little to look up at him. Long, thin fingers traced the line of her hips, drawing her in closer to his body. There was an intensity to the way the he looked at her with those big brown eyes, the way that he had always looked at her. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips, always amused by her in some small way.

"Hi, beautiful."

"Hey."

Slowly, Veronica lifted herself onto the tips of her toes. The feel of him so close to her after all this time, his hands on her hips in this way, had set every cell in her body on fire. There had never been anyone Veronica had felt this underlying, undeniable _need_ for the way she did Logan.

She didn't realize that she was holding her breath until his lips pressed gently against hers. A familiar feeling of warmth washed over her. 180 days had been too long. She'd be damned if she was going to let him go again. Not a chance in hell. They'd just have to go on the run. Of course, she knew that wasn't possible and understood why Logan had signed up for the Navy in the first place. It was admirable and probably much healthier than her super sleuthing.

"How about we go get you out of this effity white uniform and you can show me how much you missed me," she raised a suggestive eyebrow and held the car keys out in front of her.

After six months of deployment, Logan did not need her to say any more. Laughing quietly and giving her a little salute, he kissed the tip of her nose. "Yes m'am." Throwing his large bag into the trunk of the BMW, he hopped into the driver's seat.

The sun had set a few hours later, the room glowed a deep blue color that poured in from the large windows in Logan's room that looked out onto the beach. Clothes had been scattered around the perfectly kept room and the young, reunited couple lay in a tangle of sheets and limbs.

Already, they had caught up once or twice. Three times _at most_ since they had gotten back.

Veronica's head rested on his bare shoulder. Even after all this time, she seemed to fit just perfectly against him. Logan's arm was curled under her, his fingers gently playied with the ends of her blonde hair. His lips pressed softly against her forehead.

For the first time since Logan had left, Veronica felt at peace.

"Man, it's good to be home," Logan let out a long, deep sigh, "I missed you."

"I'm going to miss that sweet ride," she teased, poking him in the ribs, "I was getting used to a certain standard of living, driving around Neptune in that thing. I felt like I was a young Petra Landros. Except the polar opposite of her in almost every way."

"I'd much rather have a 12-month Veronica Mars calendar anyway. The Many Sexy Faces Of edition." His hand motioned in the air above them, accentuating dramatically the title he had decided on. There were times that it was hard to forget that Logan Echolls was the son of two actors. "That 2004 Victoria Secret calendar has seen better days."

"Maybe we can arrange that before your next tour of duty."

There was an immediate feeling of sadness, thinking that she'd have to say goodbye to him again, but she pushed it away. They had plenty of time before Logan would have to go anywhere and instead of dwelling on what was to come, she wanted to take full advantage of having him here with her now. Especially when they were both lying naked in bed together and he was looking at he_ like that_.

Rolling over onto her stomach, she rested her chin on his chest. "I missed you, too."

"Finally, _finally_, she admits it!"

"Shut up."

And before either of them knew it, they were on to catching up for the fourth time.

* * *

When Logan woke up, Veronica was gone. Her side of the bed still warm, but there was no sign of the pixie sized blonde as he rolled himself up onto his elbows and looked around the room. It was dark outside and Logan estimated that it must be around midnight judging by the reflection of the moon on the ocean surface outside of his windows.

Pushing himself out of bed and pulling on the pair of boxers that they had carelessly discarded of earlier when they had been incapable of keeping their hands off each other, Logan shuffled out of the room in search of her. There was a part of Logan that worried she might have taken off on him. It was strange how whenever he was around Veronica, those old insecurities he had not thought of in years could resurface so easily.

He didn't have to search too far for her. She was sitting at the small table in the kitchen wearing one of his shirts, blonde hair pulled back into a messy ponytail as she ate a bowl of cereal. Their eyes met, he grinned at her.

"Dick's gonna be pissed if you finished his cocoa puffs."

"Don't worry, I'll destroy all the evidence."

Moving around the table, Logan lifted her up slightly so that he could sit down. As Veronica settled on his lap, his arms wrapped around her tightly and he placed a chaste kiss on her temple. After so much time spent apart, he had an overwhelming urge to just be touching her all the time. It was as though for the last 6 months, the last nine years of his life where he hadn't been able to hold her, feel her in his arms, Logan hadn't been able to breathe. He hadn't been able to breathe not being near her. That much had been clear to Logan as soon as she had stepped off the plane from New York.

It had taken more time than he had banked on for her to come back to him, to forgive him for all the wrong he had done. For just a minute, he had almost given up on them, too. Moved on, forgotten about their love being epic. Forgotten about how it had only ever been her he wanted. Then as soon as he had needed her, there she was as if no time had passed at all. Veronica Mars.

How unfair had it been that when he had finally gotten what he had been waiting for these past nine years, he had had to walk away from it. Only 180 days, he had told her, it was nothing for them. Honestly, he was sure that he had been trying to convince himself as she batted those eyes at him and claimed that if she could get him off murder charges, she could beat an AWOL rap.

"I should go home though, my dad has not started worrying any less about me in his old age. I mean, really, how much trouble can I get into?" Her words seem to come out of nowhere, but that could have just been because Logan had been lost in his own thoughts for the last minute or so.

"I believe they did a survey in Time magazine on that very subject. The top three choices were piss off a suspected murderer, piss off a suspected rapist, or piss off the leader of a crime syndicate." As he recited his list, he held up a finger one at a time.

Logan could not ever really blame Keith for worrying about his daughter, even now that she was all grown up. In just the short week that she had been back in Neptune to help him out, she had found herself trying to take down a murderous Cobb on her own. He knew that there were other things, too, that had happened in his absence. Things that Veronica was hiding from him.

"I thought that was why he was making me carry a gun, now I just whip 'em out and knock 'em dead." Her fingers formed fake guns that she pretended to shoot in front of them before blowing the imaginary smoke away off each.

"The thought of you walking around with a gun. It's scary."

"And kind of sexy right?" Her head tilted to the side, her eyebrow arched upwards carefully and there was a devious smirk on her face that Logan could not resist.

"Incredibly sexy," he whispered with a nod of his head as he kissed the tip of her nose and then her lips, softly brushing back loose strands of blonde hair from her face.

In truth, Logan knew how much carrying the gun that Keith had given her bothered Veronica. They'd exchanged a short conversation about it on Skype and a few brief e-mails. It made Logan feel a little easier though, knowing that she could protect herself if she needed to with more than some mace and a stun gun. One thing that hadn't changed about Veronica Mars at all in the last nine years was her penchant for heading straight into trouble without bringing back-up.

"Do you want me to bring you home?"

"No." She leaned her head back so that she could look at him. There was a softness to her eyes and to her tone of voice that Logan had heard a million times. It left a warm, familiar feeling in his heart. It was a look that she had always reserved solely for him.

Gathering her up in his arms, he pulled her even tighter against his body, kissing her harder than he had before. More forcefully. That look, it did things to him.

"_What_ are we doing?" she laughed against his lips and the words echoed back to their junior year of high school when they stood outside of the Echolls mansion and kissed under the cover of darkness. It almost felt like after all these years, they had come full circle again.

"I'm taking you back to my bed," he mumbled between kisses, "And getting you out of those clothes."

They'd have plenty of time to talk later.

* * *

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Veronica rushed into the office of Mars Investigations late and wearing the same clothes that she had been the day before. Given how her father was a skilled and experienced detective, she didn't expect him to miss that fact. Which was possibly why she had convinced Logan to stop for some coffee and donuts on the drive over. _Good old fashioned bribery, dad will see right through it, but he'll still appreciate it. _

"Veronica…" Keith Mars had stepped out of the office that the partners shared holding his 'World's Greatest Dad' mug in his hands and wearing a look of discontent.

"I know, I'm late, but this is why we have the delightful Mac manning the phones," she smiled widely and motioned to her best friend sitting at the desk in the lobby. The computer whiz was wearing her own look of unhappiness as she held the phone to her ear and seemed to be in the middle of an argument with a potential client who may or may not be seeking help elsewhere by the end.

"You didn't come home last night."

"And _you_ didn't take out the trash this morning," she pointed at the over-stuffed bin by Mac's desk, "Let's just call it even. Donut?"

Her father let out a long and exasperated sigh before reaching out and grabbing a donut from the box, "And how is Logan?"

"Logan who?" Veronica furrowed her brows together, feigning confusion, "I met a very nice sailor down at the pier last night. He romanced me with cheap wine and tales of the open sea. His name is Bubba and we're running away together this weekend before his grandchildren put him in a home."

"Well I'll have to meet this guy first."

"Don't worry dad, he'll have a wonderful dowry of fresh fish and my name tattooed on his arm for you."

Keith rolled his eyes and grabbed another donut before strolling back into the office. Instead of following suite, Veronica plopped herself down on the couch in the lobby and waited for Mac to get off the phone. It had been a slow week and nothing pressing was forcing her to work right away.

"And for about the millionth time," Mac started as she tossed the phone down, "You really should hire someone with more people skills."

"I overlook your anti-social nature based purely on your physical appearance. I'm shallow."

"Speaking of, how's Logan?"

Veronica narrowed her eyes playfully at the brunette computer genius sitting behind the desk across from her and pointed her finger, "Now, play nice. He promised to bring by some lunch later."

"I was thinking of holding out for something bigger. Maybe a new computer."

Their banter was interrupted by the front door opening. Both women turned their heads and Veronica smiled before she even realized that she was doing it. "Speak of the devil."

"And the devil doth appear," Logan spread his arms out and took a little bow. He was wearing jeans and a green crew neck. Green had always been a good color on him. "You forgot this in the car, m'lady." In the palm of his hand sat Veronica's phone which he leaned forward to hand to her now.

"It must have fell out of my pocket!" With a burst of aggressive energy, Veronica snatched it out of his hand and immediately began to see if she had missed anything important in the five minutes since she had last checked it before getting out of Logan's car.

"Thank you Logan. What would I do without you, Logan?"

With big, innocent blue eyes, Veronica looked up and smiled at him, "Thank you, Logan." She lifted her chin slightly, welcoming a peck on the lips from him.

"Nice to see you, too. I'm doing great, thank you for asking." Mac piped up from behind her desk, waving sarcastically at them with a hint of mocking.

"Is that Logan?" her father then called out room from his office apparently having heard the commotion outside and Veronica groaned inwardly. She had been hoping to avoid this reunion between her father and Logan now until the pair of them had gotten the chance to talk about what it was they were doing. What this _thing_ between them was officially.

"Hey Mac, Mr. Mars," Logan nodded to them both as her father reappeared the room again.

"Welcome home," Keith held up his cup to Logan. Veronica realized then that her chest felt just a little constricted, she'd been holding her breath since her father had realized that Logan was there. It eased up a little when she saw the look on her father's face, he wasn't looking to give anyone a hard time. Yet.

"Thank you, sir. It's good to be back."

Watching Logan's body language, Veronica could tell that he was just as nervous as she was. His history with Keith had always been strained, at best. Which mainly had to do with the tumultuous relationship that she had shared with him. Keith Mars was extremely protective of his only daughter and in the past, he had warned Logan to stay away from Veronica more than once. Add to the fact that he was the reason that she had returned to Neptune instead of becoming big shot lawyer in New York all these years later, she did not at all blame Logan for feeling nervous about this reunion too.

Throughout all of this, what none of them had noticed was that Mac's attention had now completely shifted to something that had appeared on her computer screen. The girl's mouth hung open slightly as she glanced up over her monitor rapidly. "Uh, guys, you might want to see this."

As Veronica rounded the corner of the desk to see what her friend had discovered, her heart stopped in her chest. The awkward reunion would have to wait.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: First I'd like to thank everyone for the kind feedback. I started this second chapter long before I finally posted the first and it's been a tough one to get through as we get started on the big mystery and introduce some new characters. I've had a lot of fun with it too though, so I hope you enjoy and remember: Reviewing is good for the soul. **

_Chapter Two_

It was all too familiar.

A look of absolute horror crossed over her face before being washed away by anger, guilt, sadness. The emotions had absolutely nothing to do with the scene she had witnessed unravel on Mac's computer screen. They were residual from a long time ago. A time she had been harder. Even elbows deep again in the grime and dirt that made up Neptune, California, she recognized that she had gotten soft. For just an instant, she could feel a flash of the girl she had been after Lilly died, after her rape. A hard exterior that held the world at arm's length so that she couldn't get hurt by it again.

Then, she felt the weight of Logan's hand soft on her shoulder.

Turning to look at him, she saw a similar look of sadness flash in his eyes. They were both reliving days long past, being visited by ghosts of their former selves. How easily they could be taken back there.

Veronica leaned into the comforting support of his body. Instantly, she could feel the way his arm wrapped around her and pulled her in just a little closer. His lips pressed against the back of her head and rested there as they both watched Mac's monitor.

"_The Sheriff's Department has announced the discovery of sixteen year old Eve Martin brutally murdered early this morning just outside her parents' home. The town of Neptune is in shock, currently hearing echoes of the still unsolved Lilly Kane murder today. Sheriff Lamb, who has made an interesting reputation for himself in the media lately, has promised swift justice for the Martin family…"_

The office was filled with silence as Keith Mars leaned forward to turn the video off. No one had spoken a word yet. No one dared. Besides, what could any of them possibly say? Lilly's murder had caused their lives to unravel all those years ago. They had lost so much and though a day didn't go by where Veronica didn't think of her best friend, they had all been doing their best to move on.

"I think I'm going to go…" Logan broke the silence and his contact with Veronica, slowly backing away.

The tips of their fingers were barely touching now and she felt her heart drop in her chest, a new kind of sadness overwhelming her. Why did they both always choose to run? "Logan…"

He stopped at the sound of his name on her lips. Mac and Keith were still in the room, but as far as either Veronica or Logan were concerned, it was just the two of them. When their eyes locked, everyone else just melted away. It had been like that for so long. Much longer than either admitted.

"I'll be back," he assured her as he pulled her back into him, kissing he tip of her nose, "We can have pizza for lunch and you can tell me all about the bail jumping hooker drug dealers you catch before noon." He gave a nod to the other two people in the room before disappearing out the door again.

"Veronica," her father touched her back gently once Logan was gone and the blonde turned quickly to look at him. The concern etched on his face made her heart hurt a little. She hated making him worry.

"I'm fine dad, really. I just need to go find him."

But was she really fine? Sheriff Dan Lamb's promise of swift justice only served to remind her of what he had done to Weevil after he had been shot by Celeste Kane on the night of their ten year reunion, allegedly in self-defense. It reminded her of what the Kanes had done to Abel Koontz when they had thought Duncan had murdered Lilly and how Lamb's predecessor and younger brother had been too lazy and power hungry to investigate the cover-up. It reminded her why she had wanted to leave Neptune behind so badly in the first place. Nothing good ever happened in the beachside town where the haves did whatever they wanted and the have-nots were used as a patsy in their twisted games.

No, swift justice would not be served, just as it had not for Lilly. Even after she and her father had solved the case and Aaron Echolls was locked up, he had managed to walk away a free man. _Until _someone_ decided to take matters into their own hands_, Veronica reminded herself. While Aaron's death had been ruled a suicide, Veronica was not one to eat up the words printed in the newspaper. Not that she cared to look deeper into that particular cover-up.

After all, Aaron had gotten what he deserved. He had killed Lilly, almost murdered both Veronica and her father. He had been abusing his son for years. The world was better off without him.

Still, she did not have faith that the loved ones of Eve Martin would be given any sort of real peace with Dan Lamb on the case. But what was a girl to do? She knew her judgment was clouded by visions of Lilly lying outside the Kane mansion, her father holding her as she cried. Sure, Eve Martin was the daughter of a wealthy family in a world where money talked, but someone would surely take the fall for something they hadn't done and the people who loved her would be constantly haunted by her memory. As Veronica had been haunted by Lilly for so long after her death.

Finding Logan after borrowing her dad's car had been the easy part. It had always been the easy part. It was as though there was a string wrapped around each of their hearts, tying them together. All she had to do was give it a little tug and there he was.

The spot of Lilly's memorial fountain had gone unchanged in eleven years. Water still trickled gently from it, the plaque still sparkled. Logan stood leaning against the wall, fingers gently sloshing water. He was completely oblivious to her arrival and for a second, he was that seventeen year old boy again.

"She would have loved this. Everyone will always remember her name."

He looked up at her, surprised by her arrival and then his face changed. The corners of his lips tugged upwards in a smile and he took a tiny step back so that he was leaning fully on the wall now. His body opened up to her and Veronica cautiously stepped into it.

"She would have hated the fountain though," he said as her arms wrapped around his center and she nodded against his chest. Lilly would have found it so incredibly tacky. Not fabulous enough for the self-proclaimed Queen Bee of Neptune. "You know, every time I think we've moved past her…there she is."

"I think she's always going to be there," Veronica shrugged and looked up at him, "She's a pretty huge part of who we are. Who we became after she died."

"I just wonder if it will ever feel normal again. It's been years and we still live in her shadow."

"Hey," she gave him a little bump with her shoulder, "Normal is pretty boring."

Logan allowed for a laugh then that made Veronica sigh just a little, contentedly, "Yeah, but it's crazy, you know? All this time has passed and she's still getting what she wants from us. You know, she used to be so jealous of you."

Veronica blinked back her confusion as she looked up at Logan. Never in all her years of friendship with Lilly Kane or afterwards did she imagine that her best friend, who'd had it all, had ever been jealous of _her_. What did Veronica Mars have that the daughter of the most powerful family in Neptune didn't?

"She was," Logan nodded his head and gently ran his thumb down her cheek, "That's actually how we started, y'know? Me and Lilly. I'd had this crazy crush on you from the first time I saw you, and Lilly, well, she just hated being told no. Hated when she wasn't the center of attention all the time."

"I never knew." She was completely bewildered by Logan's confession. Never in a million years had she thought Logan Echolls would have ever looked at her in that way, especially not with Lilly around. Lilly was a brightly shining star, Veronica had just been lucky enough to be included in her glow. At least, that was how she had always viewed herself until she had been forced to live outside of the light.

"Yeah, well I never thought I stood a chance anyway," Logan shrugged, "You were better than all of us, less screwed up. And then you started dating Duncan and, well, then everything else happened."

Everything else. Which included Lilly's death and a year of being ostracized and ridiculed by her former friends, Logan especially. It suddenly gave a new meaning to Logan's tormenting of old, to the way he had looked at her after she had kissed him outside the Camelot motel, and to his speech from the alterna-prom about their love story being epic, a speech that they had echoed the words of before he had left six months ago. _Spanning years and continents. Lives ruined, bloodshed. _How true those words seemed to ring now, ten years later. They had left quite the wake of destruction in their path.

All these things that Lilly never told her. It made Veronica wonder how different it could have turned out if her best friend hadn't kept so many secrets from them all.

"And now here we are," Logan added, lips brushing the top of her head.

"Here we are," she nodded, her tone light and dreamy. Here they were, together. It seemed as though no matter how hard people tried to tug them apart, an invisible force just pulled them together again. As though they were made for each other. As though nothing could ever compete.

And nothing ever could. It had always been Logan. Veronica had tried the normal route. She had tried to have simple and uncomplicated, but it had just bored her. It had been so easy to walk away from it without looking back as soon as he called. Even her father had seen it within seconds of her arrival.

Taking a deep breath, she leaned back and looked up at him again. If she didn't say it now, she might lose her nerve, "Logan, I…"

"Are you Veronica Mars?" the voice penetrated right through their bubble then. Startled, Veronica's head whirled around to see who had managed to sneak up on them.

* * *

The first thing Logan noticed about the girl was her height. She was tall. Much taller than Veronica, though that was not a hard feat to accomplish, and model thin. And she was pretty in a way that sixteen year old girls were before they realized it, with a spray of freckles across the pale skin on her nose. Pure, innocent. The way that Veronica had been before Lilly was murdered, before she had gotten drugged and raped at Shelly Pomroy's party. Her green eyes were filled with a kind of desperate sadness, but behind all of that there was a spark, a fire, which immediately made Logan want to protect her. Joining the Navy had obviously done nothing to quench his undeniable savior complex.

"Who's asking?" Veronica stepped away from him now. Her head tilted to the side, her arms crossed in front of her chest. There was a hint of suspicion to her tone. Whatever she had wanted to tell him seconds ago was forgotten now. She was all business. Some things never changed.

"Zoey. Zoey White." the brunette looked down at her hands. Long strands of dark brown waves fell in front of her face and she took a deep breath. Having spent the better part his life surrounded by the likes of movie stars and Dick Casablancas, the young girl's insecurity threw Logan off. She wasn't damaged in the way that everyone he ever loved had been, she was genuinely not comfortable in her own skin. It made him wonder what a girl like this was doing looking for Veronica.

"And? What do you want? Come on, spit it out."

The corners of his lips tugged up slightly into an amused smile, despite himself. Patience was a virtue that Veronica seemed to have given up on a long time ago. She did not have time to beat around the bush or cater to the whims of others. If someone wanted something from her, she got straight to the point. It had always been something he both loved and loathed about her all at once. Though lately, he saw it in a much more affectionate way than he had all those years ago.

"Well, Eve Martin was my best friend…"

And with those words, Logan Echolls stopped smiling.

* * *

Eve Martin had been found early that morning by her younger sister. The older of the two Martin girls had recently gotten her driver's license and had since been eager to drive everyone around everywhere. Rachel had searched the house for her sister before spotting her familiar figure out by the pool. They were running late already and still had to drive across town to pick up Zoey, so it hadn't registered how odd it was that Eve was lying on the cold cement rather than on a lawn chair. Not until she had taken the first steps out the patio door and started screaming. There was blood everywhere.

The police report that Mac had hacked into the Sheriff's department to retrieve for Veronica claimed that the Martin girl, aged sixteen, had died from what appeared to be a blow to the head. An autopsy that had already been set for later that day would prove it. No information would be released to the public until then. Sheriff Dan Lamb had not lied. He had put this case on the fast track.

Officially, no arrests had been made. However, according to Zoey, who had tracked Veronica down after recognizing her from the news after the Dewalt-Scott case, the Sheriff's department had taken Benjamin Adams into custody for questioning. The Adams boy just so happened to be the deceased's boyfriend. Or, more recently, her ex-boyfriend.

Benjamin Adams was no spoiled rich kid. What Veronica had been able to find on him, with the help of Mac's computer skills, told her that his father had been a mechanic who went on a bender one long weekend and never came home and his mother worked as a nurse in the geriatric ward of the hospital. Long hours, at that. His grandmother had been the one to raise him for the most part, but she had died last year. Her obituary stated that she was survived by her daughter, Tricia, and two grandchildren, Annie and Ben. There were a few minor misdemeanors to his name, but nothing major. Nothing that screamed violent girlfriend-murdering psycho to her.

If Lamb found any evidence to even hint that the kid was guilty though, there would be no one to pay his bail. And given the latest trend within the county Sheriff's department to plant evidence, Veronica had no doubt that they would find something to justify charging him and the kid would fry for it.

She felt like she was going to be sick.

The look on Zoey White's face was clear in Veronica's memory. She had barely been able to look at Veronica in the eyes as she had spoken. Her fingers twisting in nervous knots. "He didn't do it."

"How do you know?" she had asked, fiercely suspicious eyes never looking away.

"Because I just do. Because he was with me last night."

In spite of the young girl's nervous tics, she had spoken with conviction. Veronica believed her instantly.

_But what are you going to do about it, Veronica? _

This wasn't like the missing persons case she had faced with months ago. No one was coming to her for help. No one except a sixteen year old girl who had just lost her best friend and who didn't have the authority or the money to hire Veronica to launch a murder investigation.

_As if that stopped you from solving Lilly's murder when _you_ were sixteen. Come on, Veronica. You've seen the system at work. So are you going to lay down with the dogs, or are you going to take them out?_

She had known the answer from the second Zoey White had approached her though. If Lamb wanted to throw a sixteen year old boy to the lions without cause, she was going to make him regret it. She was going to be the pesky Veronica Mars who annoyed and pushed until things got done the right way. At the very least, she was going to make sure that an innocent boy didn't go down for this.

Picking up the phone, Veronica dialed a very familiar number. One that she had memorized ages ago. One that she would never forget. "Hey, Cliffy. It's me. I need a favor."

* * *

When Logan got back to the beach house he shared with Dick, he found his best friend and roommate lazily lounging on the couch playing video games. Sometimes it still astonished Logan that in all this time, nothing had changed. They had all grown up, but somehow Dick had managed to keep surfing, video games and babes as the main priorities of his life. He supposed that it should be comforting, in a way.

"Hey, dude!" Dick called out, waving a hand in the air above his head, "Where's Ronnie? I thought she was, like, your shadow now or something." It was true that since he and Veronica had started up together again, he had not really gotten to spend any quality time with his friend. Especially not considering he had been deployed for the last six months. Logan felt a little guilty about it.

Until he remembered what it was he and Veronica had been doing and the guilt melted away.

"Nah, she had some work to do." Logan slowly sat down on the coach next to Dick, leaning forward just slightly so he could scoop the second controller off the table. This would take his mind off of things. It would take his mind off of Eve Martin and the story that Zoey White had shared with them earlier. It hit a little too close to home.

"What the hell is up with the two of you, anyway? We don't see her for ages and then she's suddenly here, like, all the time. This is supposed to be our bachelor pad, bro, Ronnie's just gonna cramp our style." Pausing for just a second, Dick glanced at Logan and cleared his throat. "I mean, she's cool and all until she rips your heart and you go all dark on us."

There was a part of Logan that knew he meant well. After all, hadn't he been there from the very start of this love story between him and Veronica? By now, Dick Casablancas was well versed in what their epic love affair entailed and Logan knew that he tread carefully when it came to the tiny blonde one because of the warning given all those years ago. That if you had a problem with Veronica Mars, you were pretty much dead to him. Was that what he had said? That they should just evaporate or something. Still, at the end of the day, Dick was just looking out for him. Logan could appreciate that.

"Don't worry about it."

"Alright, but she's still seriously deranged, dude," Dick added, "I ran into her at this party on Spring Break and she was getting into some weird shit before she just, like, threw herself at me. She was bleeding and shit, too. I'm just trying to have your back, bro."

Logan sat up a little straighter as Dick talked. Not because he thought that Veronica would ever legitimately throw herself at Dick, he could hear her voice in his head excusing herself so that she could go throw up at the very mention of it. He just knew that Dick was oblivious at times. Especially when he was obliterated. If Veronica had done that, it meant that she had been in trouble. Serious trouble. So, what had Dick not noticed in his drunken party stupor? "What are you talking about? Where was this?"

"At the Gutiérrez cousins' place up the beach," Dick waved randomly in the direction of the wall next to him, "This dude was leading all this chicks to get more champagne in some other room, so I followed and the next thing I knew Rons was calling me baby and kissing me. She had this gash on her neck. It was pretty fucking weird, bro. And then the cops came in and busted the place."

Logan frowned. What would have happened to Veronica if Dick didn't aspire to live life like David Wooderson and keep hanging around Freshman-aged College girls far past it being socially acceptable? For just an instant, Logan regretted dragging her back to Neptune. She had been safe in New York. At least, safer than she had ever been in Neptune. Now she was right back in it.

He didn't realize that his hands had balled up to form fists as Dick told his story.

Maybe he should pay a little visit to the Gutiérrez cousins.

* * *

"Well, well, if it isn't my favorite Deputy," Veronica grinned as she strolled into the Sheriff's department with Cliff McCormack in tow. Norris Clayton looked up at her from his desk and returned her smile.

"Hey, Veronica, what can I help you with?"

"I'm here to see our friendly neighborhood Sheriff, do you think he might have a minute for yours truly?" she leaned forward, propping her elbows up on the desk. How easily she fell back into her old habits. Not just with Logan, but even now in flirting with her local law enforcers. For just a brief instant, she saw Leo standing there in front of her instead of Norris. But that image was quickly gone. He was a big shot detective in San Diego now. How easy it seemed for some people to just leave this all behind.

"He's actually busy right now. It might be a while, but you can wait if you want."

"I don't, actually," Veronica let out an exaggerated sigh, "But I guess that's why I brought Cliffy along with me. Cliff is here to represent one Benjamin Adams, so I think Sheriff Lamb _might_ want to take a minute to come and see us before he's faced with a lawsuit. Just a suggestion." She shrugged her shoulders a little. "You go let him know I'm here."

Norris could only laugh and shake his head at Veronica, pushing himself back from his desk and leaving to get Lamb. _Now if only everyone in the Sheriff's department could be so amused by me. _Satisfied, Veronica took a step back and spun into one of the seats that lined the main lobby. Leaning back, she waited. Any second now…

"What do you want, Veronica Mars?"

The voice was impatient, which only made Veronica smile wider as she looked up Sheriff Lamb. His hair was slicked back, his blue eyes cold and irritated. Just as she had hoped they would be. "Well that's a loaded question. What I _really_ want is a competent Sheriff, but since I guess _that's_ not going to happen, I'll just settle on you letting Benjamin Adams go."

"He's a suspect in a murder investigation," there was not even a flicker of amusement that crossed over Lamb's face, "So how about you just run on home and mind your own business."

"Or how about I make some calls to all the local new stations and tell them that you brought a minor in without informing his mother with absolutely no cause? I'm sure they'd love to hear all about that." Veronica had pushed herself out of the seat she had taken now and moved to face-off directly in front of Sheriff Lamb now, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her head in a defiant manner.

"_Do_ you have anything to charge my client with?" Cliff asked, stepping in before either Veronica or Dan Lamb could say anything more. It reminded her to back off just a little. _Be Cool, Veronica. _

"I have an eye-witness putting him at the scene of the crime between 10 and 10:15 last night." There was an air of confidence to Lamb as he relayed this news to them. He took a wide stance, puffing up his chest and sticking his thumbs into the belt loops of his pants. _But then again, he makes it so easy for me to want to destroy him. _

"But you also don't have a time of death," Veronica pointed out before Cliff could say anything, "So basically, you've got nothing until that coroner's report comes in. Unless you caught him red handed, hovering over Eve Martin's body murder weapon and all. No? Great! We'll just go right ahead and get Benji, then." She pushed past Lamb without another word.

"Why do I let you talk me into these things, V?" Cliff mumbled as he followed close behind her.

"Because it's just so much fun trying to guess if that vein on Lamb's forehead is going to explode." Not for the first time, Veronica wished Logan had been there with her to see the look on the Sheriff's face.

When she opened the door to the investigation room, she found a tall, lean boy with sandy brown hair and brown eyes. He had been sitting and absently picking at his nails before they came in. She paused just a second to examine him as he turned to look at them. He was well-dressed. Bored. Confused. And the emotion that hit her like a ton of bricks in the chest when she recognized it, heartbroken.

For just a second, Veronica allowed herself to remember the look on Logan's face the first time she had seen him after Lilly's death. It was something that she had not thought about since the day it had happened. Logan in a black suit at Lilly's funeral, eyes rimmed with red from crying. He was drunk, she had known without even needing to talk to him just by the flask he had tried to hide in his breast pocket. Their eyes had locked for just one second and she had been immediately forced to look away, the power of his sadness too much for her to bear with her own. It was the same look she saw on Ben Adams now.

"Hey there, Benji," she greeted cheerily, pulling herself together. "How would you like to go home?"

_And answer a few questions about why you were at your ex-girlfriend's house before she was murdered. _


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: As always, thank you all for the support and feedback. **

_Chapter Three_

Not twenty minutes later, Veronica stood outside of Logan's. He hadn't answered any of her calls since she left the Sheriff's department, a fact that did not sit easy in her gut. Already her nerves had been on edge all day, ever since Mac had shown them the news story about Eve Martin's murder, ever since Zoey White had turned up looking for her help. She tried again now, staring up at the door.

"_You've reached Logan and here's today's inspirational message: If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door - Milton Berle. Leave a message." _

Normally, his ever-changing voicemail quotes would make Veronica smile. Not today. She took a step and knocked forcefully on the door.

Tricia Adams had been waiting outside for them when they walked out of the Sheriff's department. Needless to say, she wasn't keen on subjecting her son to more questioning. Veronica couldn't blame her. Benjamin had had a look of defeat as he'd moved into his mother's embrace.

She was exhausted herself, it had been a long morning. They could wait until tomorrow.

But she hadn't spoken to Logan since Lilly's Memorial Fountain and that was unsettling. All of these emotions from their past being dredged up like this, Veronica couldn't help but worry about him. Neither of them had really dealt with Lilly's death in a way professionals would deem healthy.

The door in front of her swung open revealing a shirtless Dick Casablancas with tousled blonde surfer hair and a sleepy expression. At first glance it would seem as though he hadn't changed at all since high school. There were barely any wrinkles on his face, which she attributed to his easy, no-stress lifestyle. Then again, not a whole lot had actually changed with Dick in the last ten years.

"_Heeey_ Ronnie," he greeted, dragging out the 'e' just a little longer than necessary

"Where's Logan?"

"He's not here. I think you might want to get that tracker checked."

"Do you know where he went?"

Her patience with Dick had always been barely existent and she didn't have time to play his games today. There was a bad feeling gnawing at her insides. Sure, nearly a decade had passed and she _knew_ Logan had grown up, but she didn't know how he would react to all these memories of Lilly, of what followed her murder, resurfacing. It had been a long time since either of them had allowed themselves to think about it. More than any of them, Logan really had tried to forget.

"I'm not his keeper, I thought that was your job. He left, like, a half hour ago. I didn't ask."

"Thanks, _Dick_. You're just as helpful as ever." She knew that Dick hadn't warranted her bitchiness, but she couldn't help it. Logan going off the grid like this, while normal when he was 8000 miles away, had never been a good sign before in Neptune.

Stalking away from the house, Veronica urgently dialed Logan's again. Maybe she was being over-dramatic. Maybe Logan had just gone for a swim and when he checked his phone, would just be worried over all the missed calls she had placed to him. But it had been too long and she couldn't shake this feeling. She had barely been able to shake the feeling of something bad happening since her father's accident. She needed answers, she needed contact. "You've reached Lo-" She hung up and shoved her phone forcefully back into her bag, it was no use.

Besides, she had to get the car back to her father and meet up with Weevil. What had started out looking like a slow day had suddenly gotten away from her. There was no time to worry about her boyfriend going MIA for a couple of hours. It was Logan, he would turn up. He always did.

* * *

Honestly, Logan had not meant to end up here. Not really.

The Gutiérrez place Dick had told him about was an impressively sized mansion in a spread of other rather impressively sized mansions. Nothing out of the ordinary for this side of town. Logan could easily imagine what the property had looked like over spring break in Neptune, crawling with drunk college co-eds. It was not hard to when you had grown up in a house like this, throwing parties of your own. Of course, he didn't remember having armed security standing outside his front gates at all hours of the day. No, the cousins were definitely not your typical rich party boys.

Logan clenched and then unclenched his fist again. What had Veronica been thinking, coming into a place like this alone and unarmed. It was obvious just looking at this house that the Gutiérrez family were not small time players. There had been a time that Logan would have stormed the place without thinking anyway, metaphorical guns blazing. Now, he held back.

In his pocket, his phone vibrated violently. Veronica, again.

A flash of worry passed over him. This wasn't the first time she had attempted to call him. What if something was wrong? But she had only left one message asking him to call her back after her first attempt. Last they'd spoken, she was thinking about getting Cliff and going down to visit the Sheriff. He doubted that the lawyer had allowed her to get into any trouble in the last half hour.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing?"

Logan, on the other hand, might have just stumbled into trouble all on his own.

* * *

The hardness on Eli Navarro's face melted away as soon as Veronica stepped out of the car. Ten years ago, she knew that his reaction to her would have been very different. Even though he had been forced back onto his bike again and was rolling with his old gang thanks to the corruption of the town, she could still see the change in Weevil. She never would have believed it in high school, but he had become a family man now. "So _this_ is what a legitimate business looks like."

"Hey, V. It ain't much, but it's mine," Weevil nodded, spreading his hands out in the air as though to show it off. "Mr. Mars, how you doing?"

"I'm doing much better. Thank you, Eli," Keith nodded his head, moving slowly to stand next to Veronica. It was still odd to see her father and Weevil shake hands in a civilized manner the way they did now. There had been no love lost between the former sheriff and the now-reformed criminal, but it seemed that bygones between the pair of them were, indeed, bygones.

"So, I wasn't able to track down a LeBaron," Weevil started with a grin, "But I wasn't going to let my girl V here drive around in just anything, especially not with that fancy ride she's been in lately. My cousin knew a guy who was looking to unload an old 'stang. It's all yours for a fair price."

"And you said I'd never buy you a pony," Keith ribbed her, wrapping his arms around his daughter's shoulder as Weevil led them to her potential new car. Veronica just rolled her eyes and leaned into her father as they walked. It was times like this that it really hit her, how lost she would be without him.

"This guy your cousin knows, is he legit?" Veronica asked, raising an eyebrow curiously. She had been guilty of driving around with stolen parts in her LeBaron back in high school, but with the way things were going around here, she'd rather not be caught with a stolen car. As good as Weevil's guys were.

"It's clean. You know I wouldn't be taking risks like that with what happened."

"I know," she said softly, offering an apologetic smile. "I'll take it."

The three of them took some time to sign the papers and exchange money. By the time they were ready to leave, she had almost forgotten the day's events. Then, Weevil grabbed her by the elbow as she and her dad started walking off towards their respective cars. The look on his face made it all come back to her. She could tell, he had something to say.

"Dad!" she called out and waited for Keith to turn before continuing, "I'll see you back at home."

Veronica waited until her dad was in the car and driving away before turning back to Weevil. She had yet to work up the nerve to tell Keith Mars about the investigation she had started into the Martin murder or her little visit to the Sheriff's department earlier. If Weevil had gotten news of any of it through his various underground channels, she'd rather not have her dad overhear anything.

"I heard Logan's back in town."

That was not at all what she had expected and she knew that her face betrayed those emotions. Trying to blink back her confusion, she could only nod. "He got back yesterday."

"Yeah, well, you might want to tell your boy to try and keep a lower profile. Word is he almost got into it with Eduardo Gutiérrez this afternoon. The Echolls name, people know it around here. He's gonna start getting attention from the wrong crowd if he keeps it up, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I do." She nodded her head distractedly as she started to step away. "Thanks, Weevil."

How had he found out about Eduardo, anyway? Veronica had done her best to keep it from him all those months ago when it had first happened because this was exactly what she had wanted to avoid.

_And the results are in, mostly likely to piss off a family of crime lords? Veronica Mars, and, in a close second, Logan Echolls. If we ever get married, I know what to put on our Save the Date's. _

"Hey, V." Weevil called out again, getting her to stop and turn. "I heard about all that Eve Martin stuff on the news, too. That shit's pretty messed up. You doing okay?"

_Ah, there it is. _Of course, she knew that it would affect Weevil just as much as it had her and Logan. Lilly had meant a lot to him too, once upon a time, and it was hard not to see the parallels. At the end of the day, they all knew too well that there would be no happier end to this story than there had been for them. She gave him a thumbs up in response, "Peechy keen."

"Well, if you need anything, you let me know."

A knowing, almost conspiratorial look passed between the two of them. "I always do."

The only thing that she could do to keep her mind off Logan after that was to pour herself into her. Her dad had given her a funny look when she pulled out her laptop the minute she sat down on the couch, but Veronica ignored it. If she didn't try to distract herself, she would obsess over what might have happened and why he was avoiding her calls. _One day in and we're already falling back into old bad habits. Will we ever learn? Is this some kind of karmic sign about our fate?_

Veronica didn't want to think about it. Those thoughts were exactly what she was trying to avoid and so she clicked open her e-mail. She had told Mac to send her any information she could find on the Eve Martin and friends. There wasn't much, not yet. Right now she imagined that reporters all over California were currently scrambling for the same information, but there was nothing that would give her any leads as to what had happened to Eve Martin.

There were plenty of pictures of her online though with smiling, cat-like green eyes and striking auburn hair that made her stand out in all the family portraits. Plenty of information on her successful, rich parents, too. Her mother Elizabeth had been a soap opera actress until she had gotten married to a big shot corporate lawyer and popped out two kids, Eve and Rachel. David Martin, in turn, had divorced her some years later. _She got the house in Neptune, he stayed in LA and upgraded to a younger model. The same old fairy tale ending, show me something new. _Veronica made a mental note to see what Mac could dig up on David Martin in the morning, _Where was daddy dearest last night?_

Picking up her phone, she sent a text to Wallace next asking if he wanted to have lunch with her tomorrow. She knew he would guess her ulterior motives immediately and even if she couldn't get her hands on Eve Martin and Ben Adams' permanent records, she had a feeling that her best friend would have some valuable information to share with her. Even after all these years, Wallace was still her go-to source at Neptune High.

She was so wrapped up in her research that she didn't hear the knock on the front door. Not until she heard a familiar voice in the distance as Keith Mars opened it. It was a voice that made her push her computer aside stand slowly, turning towards the door wide-eyed and just a little hopeful.

And there he was. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his jacket in a way that always reminded her of when they were seventeen and he was waiting outside of the Camelot motel for her, a rare moment of insecurity shining through. "We should talk."

Keith, who stood between them, watched with a serious face as neither one moved. "I'd like to remind everyone that I have a gun and will be in the other room if anything happens."

Veronica gave her father a pointed look, trying hard to hide her smile. She would always be appreciative of her father's overprotectiveness, even at twenty-eight. Though she really did want her dad and Logan to find some common ground with each other this time around.

When they were alone together, Logan took three long steps towards her. He didn't say anything at first, his hand just touched her chin and gently tilted it up. Slowly he leaned in and Veronica could tell that he was examining her, looking for evidence, a scar. It was an intimate gesture, one that made her self-conscious. The memory of the knife against her neck sent cold shivers down her spine.

"Have you and Dick been watching The Discovery Channel again? What was it this time? The grooming habits of Chimps? Whatever they said about eating tics off your mate, it's really not that sexy."

"It's not funny, Veronica."

"Well, neither is looking for a fight with a very connected and very dangerous family," she replied coolly, "You could have been killed, Logan!" There was an edge of hysteria to her voice as she spoke.

The look Logan gave her in return made her shrink back a little. _Alright, so I'm a hypocrite. _It still didn't make her point any less valid, all it did was prove that they might both have a death wish. That maybe after ten years, they really hadn't changed all that much. It was a thought that made her achingly sad.

"_You_ could have died, Veronica. If Dick hadn't been there chasing girls, _you_ could have died. The thought of losing you, it drives me crazy. I'll never be okay with it." His hand had moved to cup her face, his thumb gently brushing her cheek. It made her heart beat just a little faster.

"I know," her voice was soft now, no hint of the former hardness or sarcasm that she had originally presented him. Was it because she saw his point or was it his touch that made her weaken? "But that doesn't mean you can go and put your life in danger, too. Or disappear on me. For god's sake Logan, we're adults now. This is exactly what happened last time."

He hesitated a moment, frowning deeply, before putting his free hand on her hip. "I didn't. I wanted to, but when I got there - I'm not stupid Veronica, those guys aren't harmless frat boys. They caught me lurking outside and got a little defensive. I got out of there before anything happened."

"You didn't answer your phone." For the first time, Veronica allowed him to see how hurt she was.

"I was mad." And Veronica could tell by the look on his face that he knew how childish it sounded.

Their eyes locked and the weight of the day lifted off them. They had changed. The fact that they could admit to their mistakes proved that. She tugged on his body to bring his face down level with hers.

"No more secrets," she mumbled against his lips as she kissed him, "No more lies."

It seemed like a fair deal to make. After all, secrets and lies had always torn them apart in the past. Veronica spread her fingers over his chest and Logan nodded in agreement. "No more secrets, no more lies." He kissed her again now, much more forcefully.

"And no making out in the living room," Keith shouted from out of view.

"Five more minutes," Logan held one hand up in the air as Veronica pressed her face into his chest and laughed. It reminded her of that first summer.

* * *

They spent the rest of the night on the couch in the Mars living room. Veronica tucked under Logan's arm, reading through the Google Alerts that she set up on Eve Martin and Logan watching TV. It was such a normal thing to do. Not much in Logan's life had ever been normal, he had forgotten how good it could feel to just sit back and do nothing. And while there had never really been anything normal about their relationship, they still had their moments.

Veronica had fallen asleep, though Logan would be hard pressed to say exactly when it had happened. He had leaned down to kiss her on the top of her head and noticed that her screen had gone black, her hands that had been working so furiously before had fallen still. Smiling to himself, he gently closed the laptop and moved it to the coffee table.

There were stark differences between Veronica awake and sleeping. At times, it was like taking a trip back in time when he watched her like this, she looked so young, innocent. She looked like a Veronica that had not existed in a long time in her waking hours, but one who had always had a piece of his heart. It had always been difficult for Logan to not have some affection towards the tiny blonde. He had loved Lilly, but he would never forget what he had felt looking at Veronica in her soccer uniform a lifetime ago.

Logan tried to sneak out as quietly as he could after putting Veronica to bed. As tempting as it had been to climb in next to her, he had a feeling that Keith Mars would have been less than thrilled at the prospect of waking up in the morning to find him in bed with his daughter. They might be adults now, but Logan had no illusions as to what her father thought about him. He had certainly made a reputation for himself in the Mars home. Keith pinning him to a wall and telling him to stay away one particularly awful night was something he would never forget.

Tried to sneak out would definitely have had to be the operative word, however.

Keith had taken a place at the kitchen table, two beers sweating on the table in front of him. The sight puzzled him, freezing him in his tracks.

"Take a seat, Logan."

There was no mistaking that it had been more of a demand than a suggestion. Hesitantly, Logan took the seat across from him. He did not move to assume that Mr. Mars had taken one of the beers out for him, either. Instead, he just leaned forward slightly and watched a man he had always been extremely intimidated by watch him.

"I never got a chance to thank you. For saving my life that night."

"You don't have to."

Keith paused and nudged one of the two beers towards him. "You're a good kid, Logan. The cards were always stacked against you, but you did alright for yourself."

It was impossible for Logan to contain his surprise. There had always been a part of Logan that had been envious of the relationship Veronica had with her father. What would life have been like for him if he had had a father who cared? How much had he longed to hear someone say these things about him?

"Don't break her heart again," Keith warned, "It's your ass if you do, she's got a gun now."

Logan cracked a grin and held his beer up in a salute to Keith, "I'm won't let her go again."

There was a slow, quiet nod as Keith raised his own beer against Logan's and that was the moment he knew without doubt.

He finally had the approval of Keith Mars.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I am overwhelmed and humbled by your wonderful feedback after that last chapter. When I started writing, I really didn't expect this at all. In between work and letting my muse slowly take bites out of this latest update, I haven't been able to reply to all of you, but I really just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your comments. You all rock and I hope you stick with me as I take this adventure with our favorite characters. To answer a question I received, Lianne and Hunter will definitely be making an appearance sometime soon. For now, there's plenty of fun stuff ahead, so I hope you enjoy. I know I have. **

_Chapter Four_

Veronica had been surprised to wake up in her own bed. The last thing she remembered was hanging out on the couch with Logan, the low hum of the TV in the background as she read. After the events of the previous day, she must have passed out hard. Sitting up slowly, she rubbed sleep from her eyes and glanced at the time. It was early. She wondered briefly how Logan was holding up. His welcome back to Neptune had certain been eventful. _Must have been a day that ended in 'y'._

As soon as she got up and got herself a cup of coffee, she would call him.

Though, it appeared, she wouldn't need to.

Logan was sitting at the island counter in the Mars kitchen when she stepped out of her room. There was a mug of steaming coffee in his hand as he read that morning's paper. His shirt, the same one he had worn the night before, looked a little wrinkled and there were faint, dark shadows under his eyes. A sort of bemused expression crossed her face as she moved to wrap her arms around him from behind.

"Did you stay here all night? You know, my dad is probably hiring an assassin as we speak."

"You have _one _beer with the man and he insists you sleep on the couch because you're unfit to drive."

"Next time you two should smoke some of Dick's good ganja. Maybe he'll advocate some free loving and invite you to sleep with his only daughter." She gave him a little suggestive nudge with her shoulder.

"I wouldn't count on it, honey." Keith Mars walked in then with fresh donuts and bagels in hand.

Unsticking herself from Logan, she moved to give her father a kiss on the cheek. "Early morning donut run? How many beers did you two _really _have?"

"Enough for your dad to clean me up in poker. I hope you're open to living in a tent on the beach in the future. I may have lost the remainder of my inheritance to him last night."

"Have I taught you nothing over the years?" Veronica feigned disappointment as she poured her coffee. "Never play cards with the Mars family. We're hustlers, baby."

Logan snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her into his body, "Don't I know it."

"Watch out for that one," Keith pointed at Logan with a mock serious expression on his face, "He might only be after you for your money now."

The ease with which the banter and quips unrolled over breakfast gave Veronica her second surprise of the morning. There was a sense of comfort there and for the first time, without really knowing why, she was not afraid of what either her father or her boyfriend might say. It was so foreign to her, especially when it came to Logan, that she didn't know what to do other than enjoy it. Having the two most important men in her life get along like this meant the world to her. She could only hope it continued.

Keith was the first one to excuse himself from breakfast. Physical therapy waited for no man and though Veronica knew that her father was feeling much like his old self again, she wouldn't allow him to skip it for fear of a setback, especially as he insisted more and more on actually getting out into the field. Chasing bail jumpers was no easy task and she had not stopped worrying about him since she had sat cradling him in her arms and pleading for him to open his eyes on the side of the road, sirens wailing in the background as Logan called for an ambulance.

"So _what _happened last night?" Veronica turned towards Logan when they were finally alone, tilting her head to the side slightly. Curiosity might have killed the cat, but she had never been able to resist. "Did you bring him a baby goat to sacrifice in exchange for my hand in marriage?"

The words tumbled from her lips before Veronica even realized what she was saying. It was the second time in two days that she had thought about Logan and marriage in the same sentence and it caught her completely off guard. This time she had said the words out loud, in front of Logan no less, and she looked up with a semi-panicked expression on her face. _Maybe he didn't even notice. _

The amused look on Logan's face told her otherwise. "A pig, actually."

"And I didn't even get a stinkin' t-shirt."

"Am I not enough of a prize?" He turned his body to face her, placing his hands on her hips.

"My very own trophy boyfriend," her hands gently rested on his shoulders as she stepped into the space between his legs, "I swoon."

His lips were on her then, brushing her nose and then both of her cheeks. "How about you play hooky from work and I'll let you take advantage of me?" he asked as his mouth finally met hers.

"_Hmmm…_" Veronica kissed him again, letting the low hum drag on before shaking her head, "I've got things to do." Gently, she shoved herself away, but he pulled her right back up against him. Laughing, their lips found each other again, "Rain check?"

"Tonight? I'll make you dinner. And by make, I mean I'm going to order food and pass it off as my own."

She nodded, "It's a date."

Even as they agreed to reconvene after Veronica finished work for the day, Logan's hands had slipped up the hem of her shirt. A look of mischief was in his dark eyes and in the way his lips twitched upwards just slightly. There was no bargaining with him and as stubborn as Veronica could be, she found her will weakening at the warmth of his skin against hers. "Logan, I have to take a shower."

"Well, good thing I have two very helpful hands you can use to help you reach those hard to reach places." To demonstrate, his hands moved up along her spine. There was no winning with him, but Veronica wasn't even sure why she would want to win at all. She could be late.

And she was late, too. By the time Logan had finished "helping" her shower, Veronica had missed two calls from Mac informing her that she had _paying_ clients waiting at the office. She promised to be in as soon as she could, with sustenance for Mac, swatting away Logan's playful fingers trying again to undress her as she hurriedly slipped her shirt on over her head. He was insatiable.

By the time she did finally arrive, there were two slightly annoyed trophy wives waiting on the couch, tapping designer heels impatiently, and a sullen Benjamin Adams. Zoey White was there, too. She hovered over Mac, observing her computers in awe. For some reason, that surprised Veronica. She hadn't expected brunette. Not for the first time, she found herself wondering what exactly the best friend and ex-boyfriend had been doing together the night before Eve Martin had been found dead.

"I'll deal with you two in a minute," she pointed at the teenagers before giving her best business-woman smile to her, as Mac had so perfectly put it, paying clients, "Ladies, please step into my office. I have some good news and bad news that I'd like to share with you."

It took Veronica all of five minute to inform the perfectly manicured women that yes, they were right. Their husbands had been having affairs. In fact, the men had been having an affair with each other. A surprise to everyone. Then, she shuffled Benjamin and Zoey into her office as Mac dealt with payment.

Which is exactly where they sat now. Benjamin looking distracted and disinterested, Zoey watching Veronica with quiet, intense green eyes. _For someone who was just unofficially accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend by the local Sheriff yesterday, Benji seems cool as a cucumber. _A fact that, had Veronica not seen him yesterday when she and Cliff had burst into the interrogation room, normally would have made her suspicious. Not that she trusted either of them entirely. There were always secrets.

"So, Benji, why don't you tell me why exactly Sheriff Lamb seems to think he has a witness seeing you leave Eve Martin's place the night before she was found dead." Veronica leaned forward on her desk, voice cool and even.

Benjamin Adams immediately cast a look to Zoey, who sat to his right. _Interesting. _

"If you don't tell me, I can't help you," Veronica pointed out.

And it was only when he received a quiet nod from Zoey did Benjamin begin to speak. "She called me. Probably around 9:30. Asked me to come over. She was scared."

"Scared of what?"

"She had a stalker."

His words caused Veronica's eyebrows to jump up in surprise. Mention of a stalker had never popped up in any of Mac's searches for Eve Martin, legal or otherwise. "Did she go to the police?"

The look Zoey White gave her was all the answer Veronica needed. She had and Lamb had done nothing. It was hardly shocking_. _She remembered how he had handled Hayley Dewalt going missing over spring break as just an irresponsible college girl having too much fun to check in. Clearly, the complaint of a teenage girl, however rich, of a stalker would just have been written off as her looking for attention.

_A girl is dead, it's probably wrong that I want to rub this in his face. _

"Okay," Veronica nodded slowly, refocusing on the task at hand, "So you went over there to check on her. I'm assuming she was alive and well when you left. What happened?"

"When I got there-" Ben hesitated just a second, taking a long breath in, "When I got there I realized that it was all just one of her schemes. She just wanted to-"

When he broke off, he looked at Zoey again, but she wasn't looking at him anymore. The brunette was staring at Veronica's nameplate intensely as though it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Veronica understood without him needing to finish, "Did you sleep with her?"

"No, I left and went straight over to Z's place."

All the while as he spoke, he had kept his eyes trained on the young girl next to him and Veronica could have sworn that she saw Zoey White's shoulders relax just a little at his response.

Tapping her pen against the notebook that she had left open in front of her when they had originally walked in, Veronica jotted a few things down about Eve Martin's stalker. Mainly, she wanted to give them both a beat now, a chance to relax. The more comfortable they felt, the more information they were likely to give her. If Veronica was going to figure this out, she needed all the facts and she could tell that there were plenty that they were not telling her by their secretive glances.

"Did Eve have any idea who her stalker was?" Veronica circled back, deciding that it was the best way to keep them from getting jumpy on her.

"Yeah." Zoey was the one who spoke this time, "Holden Masterson."

Veronica froze, realizing that she recognized the name. It had been years since she had even thought of Holden Masterson. Why would she have? Over a decade had passed since she had babysat him. His father was _Deputy_ William Masterson and as far as Veronica knew, he still worked for the Sheriff's department to this day.

_I suppose I should give Lamb some credit. He's loyal to his deputies, even in the face of the richest families in Neptune. _She frowned, remembering the car accident that had taken the life of Deputy Sacks. _Unless that deputy is trying to oust your corruption, then he's of better use to you in a body bag. _

For the first time, Veronica wondered if she was getting in over her head with this investigation.

* * *

A small part of Logan felt bad that he had lied to Veronica, especially considering they had pledged to do away with lies and secrets just the night before. In his defense though, it was for a good cause. How was a guy supposed to surprise his girlfriend if he told her exactly what he had planned?

Which was an honest to god home cooked meal. Or, at the very least, a barbecued meal.

Despite the fact that he had probably been the world's worst father, Aaron Echolls had still managed to teach him a few things growing up. Mainly, how to grill a pretty mean steak. It was something that Aaron had learned especially for an _Access Hollywood_ feature on the family and had insisted on passing onto his son one especially long stretch he had been home with them.

Logan still had scars from that particular lesson. Two thin, faint white lines on his wrist.

They had been his punishment for accidentally dropping one of the steaks on the porch. Rolling up his sleeve, he examined them quietly. _He told mom it was an accident. That it happened when he let me man the grill on my own. _And Lynn had believed him. Or had chosen to pretend as though she did because it was easier. He felt a rush of hot anger thinking about it.

It made him even angrier that after all these years, his father could still illicit this kind of blind rage from him. Aaron was dead and Logan was a grown man now. Whatever the tabloids had tried to dredge up about his past during his relationship with Bonnie DeVille, he had changed. He had stopped living in his father's shadow a long time ago and decided to make something of himself on _his_ terms.

"You know, I'm pretty sure they don't cook the food for you once you buy it here."

Logan turned slowly at the sound of the voice, brow furrowed in confusion. It was the middle of the day, so he hadn't considered that he might run into someone he knew here. Veronica was busy and the only other person he seemed to spend much time with in Neptune probably didn't know this place existed.

"I'm sorry, do I know you? You remind me of someone, but you couldn't possibly be her. She's got a computer attached to her to her fingertips." He pretended to type on an invisible keyboard in front of him, grinning stupidly at Cindy Mackenzie who wore an amused expression.

"Even computer geeks need sustenance."

While the pair had gotten to know each other mainly through Veronica in college, they had spent only a minimal amount of time together. Logan had always liked her though. As different as she could be from Veronica, it had never been hard for him to figure out why the two women had gotten along. And through everything that had happened in their relationship before Veronica had transferred to Stanford, Mac had never really treated Logan any different. He had appreciated that.

"I just thought you survived off spam."

Mac gave him an exaggerated eye roll, "Your wit is as sharp as ever, Echolls."

"It's all part of my charm."

"So what _are_ you doing here?" the tiny brunette asked, crossing her arms over her chest, "Because I don't remember seeing you ever eat anything but take-out before."

"If I tell you, can you keep a secret?"

Mac nodded eagerly, "Now cough it up before I tweet a picture to the world of Lieutenant Logan Echolls shopping for food like an everyman and the paparazzi swarm the place."

"I'm making dinner for Veronica."

"Don't tell me if you're going try and poison her, I'd rather be able to maintain plausible deniability."

"I can cook." Mac gave him a skeptical look and he sighed and corrected himself, "I can grill. I can also follow recipe instructions like a pro. Our educational system at work, ladies and gentlemen."

This got him another eye roll from Mac and Logan just laughed. He was glad to see that things hadn't changed all that much between them over the years. After all the shit he had put Veronica through and then how his relationship with Parker had ended, he had been sure that she would have hated him by now. Logan had certainly given her enough reason to. In fact, he had given all of Veronica's friends enough reason to hate him over the years. Still, she wasn't treating him differently.

"I'll just have to prove it to you," he added after a beat.

"We've been trying to make dinner a weekly thing since Veronica got back, so we'll make reservations at Casa de Echolls one day so you can show off for us. You're becoming a permanent fixture around here and we like our Mars time, too."

The prospect of rounding up the former Logan Echolls fan cub was not entirely appealing to him, but that might have also had something to do with his selfishness of wanting to keep Veronica to himself. Still, he nodded his head at the suggestion. Veronica's friends were important to her, especially Wallace and Mac. If he wanted things between them to work this time, he needed to be all in and make amends.

And Logan really wanted things to work. He had spent nine years waiting for Veronica Mars and now that he had her back again finally, he didn't want to spend one more day of his life without her.

Of course, he didn't doubt that they still had a lot to talk about, but Logan was all in.

* * *

After the news had broken about Eve Martin, Neptune High had cancelled classes for the remainder of the week. Instead of English and Spanish, the halls of school had been opened for students seeking grief counselling over the loss of their peer. No expense had been spared. The best counselors from around the country had been flown in for the occasion. A publicity ploy to show how much they cared about their children. Veronica could read the headlines in the morning paper already.

Wallace had volunteered to keep his office hours open in case any of his basketball players had wanted to talk. Which was why Veronica was meeting him in the hallowed halls of their old stomping ground that afternoon for lunch. A place she had been more than happy to leave behind a decade earlier

Not for the first time since she had gotten back to town over six months ago to help Logan with his case, she was seated with her best friend at their old table. The red benches just as uncomfortable as she remembered them. Wallace still eating his sandwich with the crust cut off. Very little had changed, it was almost eerie.

"Tell me your mom still doesn't make your lunch for you," Veronica sighed as she watched him, "You're a grown man, Wallace. You live in a killer bachelor pad. You've got to let Alicia off the hook."

"Oh really? And who's living in their dad's guest room?"

"Touché, but I don't cut the crusts off of his sandwiches. He does that all on his own."

Loud sobs suddenly erupted from behind them and both Wallace and Veronica turned to look as a girl ran from inside the building, hands covering her face. There was a bitterness in Veronica's chest as she watched, remembering the time after Lilly's murder. _How many of these people actually knew Eve Martin? How many actually liked her?" _

"Man, this is crazy," Wallace shook his head. "I had two of the cheerleaders in my office crying when I walked in there this morning. I didn't even know what to say to them."

"Two cheerleaders in your office? That's the dream, Wallace Fennel."

"Very funny Veronica, but you know that whole sarcastic act isn't fooling me. I know that look and it usually means you want me to do something that can get me in trouble."

"Can't a girl just want to have lunch with her best friend?" She gave him her biggest, most innocent eyes, but Wallace wasn't biting. "I'm not asking you to try and get Eve Martin's permanent file or anything. I mean, if you wanted to get it for me, I'm not going to turn it down, but all I'm asking for is a little gossip."

"Is this because it reminds you of Lilly?"

"It's because Zoey White came to me for help yesterday. Lamb seems to think Eve's ex-boyfriend Benjamin Adams did it, but she's pretty convinced otherwise. I figured you might have some 4-1-1 on them that they're not giving me." It wasn't a lie. That _was_ why she was looking into this.

"Adams definitely had motive," Wallace said thoughtfully, "Eve named him as the leader in a cheating ring a while back, got him suspended and kicked off the baseball team. He was banking on a scholarship, but it's not going to happen now with a black mark on his permanent record like that. He was pretty pissed off about it."

_Wouldn't you be, if your girlfriend basically screwed you out of your future? _Of course, neither Zoey nor Benjamin had mentioned any of this to Veronica in their meeting earlier that morning, _Strike one_.

"Worst thing is," Wallace added, "I don't even think he did it. There was no real hard evidence either way, just a lot of he said, she said. But he's got a history, so everyone believed her and no one else was stepping forward to take the credit."

Confused, Veronica frowned. "Why would Eve frame him?"

Wallace leaned forward at the table with his water bottle between both his hands and a conspiratorial hush to his tone that transported Veronica back to high school. How often had they done this very thing as teenagers? Always working through a case together. "She caught him kissing her best friend."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: The outpouring of support for this story continues to amaze me. Thank you all so much. **

_Chapter Five_

Veronica's head still reeled as she pulled up to Logan and Dick's place later that evening. There had been things that, she knew, Zoey White and Benjamin Adams had been hiding from her. She had picked up on their strange behavior in her office. The secretive glances, the sense of relief that Ben hadn't played into his ex-girlfriend's hand and had sex with her. All the signs had been there. Yet, when Wallace had informed her about Eve Martin's revenge tactic to get back at Ben for kissing Zoey, she had been surprised. _Maybe dad's right. Maybe I'm losing my edge. I should have seen this coming._

But the parallels between Eve Martin and Lilly Kane had blurred her vision. It had hit too close to home, so Veronica had overlooked some pretty important clues. Like how Zoey and Benjamin were clearly involved. She remembered how Aurora Scott and Adrian had played everyone all those months ago and she swore she would destroy the teens if she found out that they were screwing with her now.

Veronica Mars would not be taken for a fool.

She had three names to her suspect list now. Holden Masterson, Zoey White, Benjamin Adams.

If Eve Martin had been capable of ruining her ex-boyfriend's life over a kiss though, she was sure that she had made plenty of enemies in her life. _So how many people might have wanted her dead?_ _And who had she pushed far enough to actually do it?_ They were questions she intended to find the answers to.

Answers that would have to wait though. Veronica had a date with her charming and incredibly handsome boyfriend and after the craziness of the last few days, there was nothing she looked forward to more than a quiet night in with Logan Echolls.

Who was, surprisingly, absent from the house when she let herself in as Logan had instructed her to earlier when they had texted. Thankfully, so was Dick.

There seemed to be music coming from outside though and Veronica followed the sound quietly. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that Logan stood over a grill that she had, up until that moment, assumed was purely for appearances. She knew Aaron Echolls had cooked occasionally, remembering the night she and Logan had found him beating up Trina's boyfriend, but she had never seen Logan make food before.

That might have had something to do with how he had been living in a suite at the Neptune Grand for most of their relationship. Take-out had been the main food group of Veronica's diet her senior year of high school and freshman year at Hearst in between dating Duncan Kane and Logan. Then Duncan had fled the country with his and Meg's baby, and she and Logan had broken up before she transferred to Stanford. Things had changed. For them all, evidently.

Not that Logan looked particularly out of place with his apron and spatula.

He had such a concentrated look on his face that Veronica almost hated to disturb the moment as she leaned against the open door with her arms crossed over her chest, watching him. "You really go all out to make a girl believe you're actually making dinner for her."

Logan looked up then, startled, before a smile spread across his face, "It's all in the details."

"I'll admit, it's an impressive display of manliness." Pushing herself up off the doorframe, Veronica walked over to Logan, getting him with a kiss before glancing at the grill, "You're feeding me vegetables, too? Should I be worried you're going to try and poison me? You know, your get out of jail free cards expire if I die."

A look of amusement crossed Logan's face that Veronica didn't recognize before he wrapped his arms around her, "Now, why would I do something stupid like that? I'd lose all the benefits of having a super-hot private investigator girlfriend."

"Very smooth," she laughed, with a nod of approval. "Now how about you focus on not burning those steaks? This super-hot PI is starving."

"You're so cute when you're bossy." He tapped her nose with the tip of his finger playfully as he turned to flip the steaks around. Veronica just rolled her eyes and leaned into Logan's body as he cooked.

Dinner was welcomingly normal and uneventful after the day she'd had. Not to mention, delicious. The couple cleaned their plates before Logan suggested they sit out on the beach. A romantic gesture accentuated by the way he held her hand as they walked down onto the sand and how he offered her his sweater to sit on. It allowed her to relax for the first time since breakfast.

Resting her head on his shoulder, Veronica watched the ebb and flow of the ocean. It all felt like a dream. "Do you know what I missed about Neptune?"

"Was it me? I can imagine you standing on top of the Empire State building, just pining away."

"No, you dork." She punched his shoulder playfully. "This. The ocean."

"Really, don't they have one of those out east? I swear, I heard that rumor once."

"I'm glad time apart has done nothing to curb your sarcastic streak," she teased and, not for the first time, shook her head at him. "You can't skinny dip in the Atlantic ocean in the fall though."

That seemed to catch his attention as Logan tilted his head towards her, "Veronica Mars does not skinny dip." He said it so matter-of-factly that Veronica almost missed the dare in his eyes.

Using both of her hands to push herself up off the ground, Veronica twirled to face him as she backed up down the beach. "Says who?" Her smile was filled with mischief as she kicked her shoes off her feet, her eyebrow arched in invitation, "You're not going to make me do this alone, are you?"

By the look on Logan's face the answer was clear.

* * *

Even after all this time, Veronica was still able to surprise him. Notwithstanding the nine years they had been apart, he thought he had finally figured her out, but she was good at keeping him on his toes. Just as she had that evening as she had sauntered down the beach, stripping off her clothes before diving into the ocean. Logan had scrambled to get his pants off and join her.

It was a far cry from the Veronica Mars who had been the only member of their foursome to never have been skinny dipping before. Logan wondered briefly if he wanted to know the story behind her first time. Was it with Duncan? Piz? No, he was sure that he didn't care to know who had gotten to see this side of her before. The sexy, wild Veronica Mars. It only mattered that she was here with him now.

They lay in a heap of clothes and blankets in Logan's bed. It had been a race to get back here after they had chased each other on the beach, trying to gather up their clothes before anyone caught them. Now they were both panting, still soaking wet and mostly naked. It had been a good night.

"Can I ask you something seriously?" His fingers are curled through her wet hair and he turned his head just slightly so that his cheek is pressed against her forehead.

With a light hum, the blonde nodded her head against his chest. "I'm not sure if you can get through more than one sentence without snarking, but give it your best, champ."

"Why did you come back?"

He knew that he had brought her back to Neptune. Veronica had been the only person he had wanted on his side, the only person in the world he knew he could count on when he had been accused of murdering Carrie. Sure, they had a colorful history, but she had always shown up when he needed her to. Whether it was helping him try and find his mother, or bugging a church confessional to help him get off murder charges. Logan knew why _he_ had called Veronica, but he didn't know why she had come when he did. 'I don't really do that anymore,' she had told him. And yet.

Veronica sat up just a little when he asked, propping herself up on her elbow and resting her head on her hand. There was a softness to her expression, an emotional vulnerability that she only ever really showed him when they were in bed together. _This_ was Veronica Mars naked. The hard outer shell, the snark and sarcasm of her every day persona stripped back. "You needed me."

Three simple words that when strung together between them were not simple at all.

"Nine years ago you said you were done with me," he pointed out, his tone non-accusing, "For good."

"What happened to bygones?"

Logan shrugged, "Inquiring minds."

"I stopped resisting the pull. I realized I'm not a marshmallow. I'm not soft and uncomplicated." She shrugged her shoulders, "And I decided it was time to let you off the hook."

"You definitely took your time."

He saw a flicker of a smile flash over her face. "What's nine years to us?"

"About 3285 days."

"Peanuts." Veronica made a scoffing sound before Logan playfully shoved her face with his hand. Nine years certainly had not felt like peanuts. They had been long. And Logan had spent much of them trying to find ways to earn her and then, when he had thought that there was no chance of her coming back, trying to get over Veronica. Nine years had been really long.

The playfulness died down for just a second, her face becoming a mirror of his moments before. There was no laughter, no teasing in her eyes. "I'm sorry, for running away. That day in the cafeteria with Gory, I realized something. You would have done anything for me, include getting yourself killed."

"I still would." It was the most honest answer that Logan could give her. She had warned him how connected Gory was, but he hadn't cared. Logan would have moved mountains for her, he still would. All he had ever wanted to do was prove that to her so that maybe she would stop running away. Maybe she would finally forgive him for Kendall, for Madison. For everything in their past.

He had, after all, forgiven her.

"I know," Veronica nodded her head slowly, there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. "And that was scary. It _is_ scary, Logan. I couldn't just stand by and watch you get yourself killed."

It was more than that, Logan knew without her needing to say so. The proof was in the fact that they lay together, side by side in bed now. They were drawn to each other. He had seen the way she had looked at him in the cafeteria that day after attacking Gory, after he had apologized to Piz. She had been afraid of that, too. Of that realization that she _couldn't_ ever be done with him. Afraid that if she stuck around, they would keep being drawn to each other like a moth to a flame, only to get burnt in the end.

Logan had always been drawn to her fire, so he had recognized the same thing in her.

They didn't need to talk about though, not right now. Things were good between them and Logan didn't want to push his luck. He might chase her away again if he did and he didn't think he could handle that. If she had left 6 months ago, maybe, but not anymore. "Don't run again, okay?"

"I won't."

There was something about the tone of her voice that made Logan believe her without hesitation.

* * *

When Zoey White had explained to Veronica that the Martin sisters had to drive across town to pick her up the morning Rachel Martin had found her sister dead, she had always assumed that meant way out of the prestigious 09er zip code. As she learned that morning when she pulled up in front of the address Mac and given her, she could not have been more wrong. The house in front of her rivaled even the Kane estate, which Veronica had once thought to be an almost impossible accomplishment, a far cry from the small apartment that she had shared with her father after he had been run out of the Sheriff's office.

It had been a few days since she had gotten to investigate the Eve Martin murder. This was not a paying case and there were still plenty of bills to pay, so it made sense that it be put on the back burner. Still, it had been difficult for Veronica though. The mystery had lit a fire under her. She so badly wanted to solve it before Dan Lamb got a chance to spin the resolution in a way that made him look good, that made his approval ratings go up.

There was no way she was ever going to forget when he told Logan and Veronica that it didn't matter whether Logan was guilty as long as the public believed he was. Nor was she going to forget that he had called a hit on her father even if she didn't have proof of it. Whatever chance Veronica could get to make him squirm, to get Dan Lamb to look bad, she would take.

Her thirst for revenge had not subsided over the years at all.

Of course, Veronica also wanted to find the real guilty party, whether the Balboa County Sheriff's department did or not. Which was why she stood staring up at the impressively sized mansion in Neptune's newest and outermost gated community. The development was under ten years old, but it was definitely the most impressive side of town.

_As the rich get richer, they need to flaunt it with bigger houses and bigger gates. _

Tugging at the bottom of the little black jacket she wore, Veronica knocked on the door and waited. She was hoping, or at least trying, to catch Zoey White off guard – and alone – to talk to her.

According to the information she had found, with Mac's help, the White family was in real estate. Not Big Dick Casablancas real estate as far as she had been able to tell after a little digging, but given the size of the house they were living in, they were doing pretty well for themselves. It was not surprising that Charles White only seemed to really hit the scene _after_ Casablancas stock plummeted ten years ago. There was always someone waiting in the wings to step up and make a dollar.

She had also learned Charlie White left for the office early on Sunday mornings for appointments.

Which was why Veronica was prepared when a disheveled but cheery Zoey swung the door open after a minute. She was wearing a t-shirt about three sizes too big for her and a pair of boy's boxer shorts. As soon as she saw Veronica standing there, her smile disappeared. _N__o one is ever excited to see me. _Veronica suspected Zoey had been waiting for someone else. Someone who might think her boxer shorts and too large shirt were a sexy combination. It was the exact reason she was here now. She wanted answers.

"Hi Ms. Mars," her tone was tepid, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"There is," Veronica smiled brightly at the teen, nodding. "I'm here for a little gossip about your relationship with our dear friend Benji. I would have brought ice cream and cotton candy flavored vodka for our girl talk, but the stores were still closed."

"I don't know-"

Veronica cut her off, "Don't bullshit me, I don't react well to it. I know about you and Ben, a little birdie told me. So, if you don't want to be on my bad side, I'd let me in and start talking."

With a look of defeat, the brunette sighed and nodded her head, stepping aside to let the petite blonde enter the house. Veronica waited until they were settled on the couch in the White family living room before she started her interrogation again.

Up until Wallace had told her about the relationship between the best friend and the ex-boyfriend, she had never thought not to take the girl at her word. After all, she had been the one to ask for Veronica's help in the first place. And while she didn't believe that Zoey had murdered Eve, she did not appreciate being lied to, and holding back facts was the same as lying in her books.

"You weren't upfront with me, Zoey. Why didn't you tell me about how Eve ruined Ben's chances at college when she had him take the fall for the cheating ring?"

"I didn't think it mattered, he didn't hurt Eve."

Veronica frowned, "It all matters. This is the kind of thing that Lamb's going to use against him when he finds out about it. He's going to use it as Ben's motive for killing Eve. If you want me to help you, to help _him_, then you need to tell me _everything_."

"Okay," Zoey sighed and nodded her head. Pausing a second, it seemed as though she needed to take a deep breath to gather all her thoughts before she started to talk. "Ben and I lived next door to each other as kids. Our parents worked so much and his grandmother was already pretty hard of hearing back then, so we kind of just did whatever we wanted. We were inseparable."

"I can't really imagine Mrs. Adams could ever afford to live in one of these houses on her nurse's salary," Veronica pointed out, "So, that means you were living way out on the bad side of town back then?"

"Dad was on the brink of bankruptcy when Richard Casablancas fled town," Zoey nodded, "He was so excited about it, the day he disappeared. I remember he came home with a present for me and said, 'Baby, things are about to turn around for us.' And they did, you know. Slowly. People wanted someone they knew they could trust after they had lost all their savings when the stocks crashed. Dad renamed the company to White Knight Realty and he started to build his empire."

_White Knight Realty. I have to give it to good old Charlie, he definitely knows how to market himself, _Veronica thought. She remembered seeing the advertisements in her senior year. The emerging of the town's hero. The middle class stock holders flocked to someone who promised honesty, but the bigger fish were a bit slower to take the bait from someone outside of their own circle.

"I was ten when he made his first million and started the Jupiter Housing Project," the brunette continued, motioning around her. "A gated community to give the richest families in Neptune a place where they could feel safe."

The Jupiter Gated Community had been something Veronica and her father had talked about often when it had first started coming together 6 years ago. A safer place for those who had the means. It was really just a way for the wealthy to flaunt how much richer they were than their neighbors, a way to divide the classes even more. How ironic that it had been designed by someone who had just a few years before been barely scraping by day to day.

"And suddenly Papa White was a household name."

"And a household name can't live in a dump apartment on the bad side of town. So, we moved and I went from the awkward girl with no friends to having the prettiest girl in school inviting me to sleep-overs at her house every weekend."

"What happened to Ben after that?"

"I guess Eve saw potential in Ben, too. She brought him along for the ride."

It was not the redheaded Martin girl that Veronica saw in her mind as Zoey White told her story, but rather Lilly Kane skipping over to her on the first day of school. She had long blonde braids in her hair and the biggest, greenest eyes. 'We're going to be best friends, Veronica Mars.' That's what Lilly had told her and they had been, too. Until the day she died, Veronica had been unfalteringly loyal to Lilly.

This was not about her and Lilly though. That had been solved a long time ago.

"How did you three get involved in your little love triangle?"

Zoey stared at her hands, "I've been in love with Ben for as long as boys stopped having cooties. Like, stupid write his name on everything in hearts kind of in love." Her pale cheeks flushed bright pink as she kept talking, "Then one day Eve realized that Ben was probably the cutest boy in school and one of the best athletes…"

"Which meant she had to have him."

Two girls dead too early and both so alike. Veronica could only imagine what Neptune High would have been like if Eve Martin and Lilly Kane had walked the hallways at the same time. There was no way the two would have been friends. Lilly never liked competition for the spotlight.

"No one else would do," Zoey agreed, "So I sucked it up, tried to convince myself that my best friends dating was awesome. I told Ben I was happy for him, I told Eve I thought of him as a brother. Things were good for a while."

"Until they weren't anymore." Veronica knew the story all too well.

"Eve started blowing Ben off more and more. They would make plans and she would cancel last minute, or she'd show up before his baseball practice and get pissed when he refused to blow it off. We started to spend more time together, I would listen to Ben vent his frustrations about Eve."

"All the while hoping he would realize that you were there right in front of him all along," there was a fake wistfulness to Veronica's tone, sarcasm dripping through. Why couldn't girls just be upfront when they wanted something instead of playing all these games?

"I loved them both," Zoey glared, "I just wanted them to be happy, I never would have done anything to betray Eve. I told her that after he-"

"After he kissed you?" Veronica prompted when the young girl cut herself off.

"She ditched him at the Sadie Hawkins Dance. Just disappeared without telling anyone. Ben was pissed and we were hiding from Principal Clemmons so we could drink. I was just trying to make him laugh and suddenly he was kissing me. I didn't even know Eve saw us."

But Eve Martin had seen them and she had decided that the offense was bad enough for her to ruin Benjamin Adams just because she could. It was a power move, a way of showing both Ben and Zoey that what she had created, she could easily destroy. _Did only one have to pay a price though? _

Before Veronica could ask Zoey more about her best friend's revenge tactics, her phone started to vibrate violently. It was Logan, which was weird because he knew exactly what Veronica had planned that day. That could only mean it was important. Suddenly, she felt a flash of worry as she answered the call, "What happened?"

"You better turn on the TV," he informed her, "There's something you're going to want to see."

Without hesitation, Veronica grabbed the television remote and turned it on. Zoey watched her in confusion as she flipped channels until she discovered what it was Logan had been talking about. Her phone was still pressed to her ear as she listened to the news bulletin.

"_Sheriff Dan Lamb has announced that sixteen year old Benjamin Adams has been arrested in connection to the murder of Eve Martin. The news comes shortly after the discovery of the murder weapon, a baseball bat with the suspect's name and number stamped on it, was found outside the Martin home early this morning…" _

Wide-eyed, Zoey turned her entire body towards Veronica. "He didn't do it. I know this looks bad, but you have to believe me, I _know_ he didn't do it."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: As always, thank you all for your feedback. The next week is shaping up to be pretty busy for me, so it might take a bit longer than usual to get another chapter out to you. I'll do my best to get you one soon though because I have a lot of ideas that I'm really excited to share. **

_Chapter Six_

Coffee at the sheriff's office in Neptune had always been terrible, but Veronica was pretty sure that it had gotten even worse in the last decade. Apparently bribes didn't pay for a state of the art cappuccino machine. As far as Veronica was concerned, Sheriff Dan Lamb was terrible at making investment decisions with his dirty money. She stirred sugar into a Styrofoam cup before shuffling back to her seat.

"Don't ever start drinking coffee," Veronica advised Zoey White, who sat immediately to her left, "Because one day you're going to have the good stuff and nothing will ever compare."

They had been sitting here a half hour, waiting for Cliff to come out with news. They had gotten nada in that time. The public defender had disappeared into an interrogation room with Sheriff Lamb and had yet to emerge. Veronica could only assume that wasn't good. Lamb had been practically bursting at the seams when they had stormed the place. They had more than enough to hold Benjamin Adams. A witness _and_ a murder weapon? It all seemed too good to be true.

Which was exactly what Veronica was banking on.

"Aw, are you talking about me again?" She looked up and smiled at Logan when she heard his voice. He was standing in front of her with an order of coffee and a pink pastry box. _That's my man. _

"You are a god among mere mortals, Mr. Echolls." There was only a hint of mocking to her tone as she grabbed for one of the cardboard cups of delicious elixir he was holding, immediately shoving the county-provided coffee aside on the front desk.

Holding the tray away from her, Logan shook his head, "Uh-uh, not so fast Goldilocks. I believe I'm owed some form of payment for this. Or at the very least, a very generous tip."

She rolled her eyes and leaned up to kiss him. "Now hand it over, I'm tired of drinking sheriff sludge." With a laugh, Logan lowered the coffee before offering Zoey the tea she had requested as Veronica collapsed back down onto the chair she had been occupying moments before. With the amount of time she spent in this building, she was pretty sure her ass would be permanently imprinted onto the chair.

_Let them erect a statue in my honor when I die. Here sat Veronica Mars, she was smarter than us all. _

Veronica had called Cliff from the car after she and Zoey had watched the news report. Despite her insistence that the teen stay home, she had somehow wound up in the passenger's seat of Veronica's car anyway. In some ways, Veronica could see herself in the young girl. She had a fiery determination in her eyes. That was where the similarities ended. In every other facet, the sixteen year old looked like a runway model whereas Veronica had always been more of a pixie.

"So, do we have any news on the recently accused?" Logan asked, settling into the empty seat on Veronica's right. He opened the box he had been carrying along with the coffee, tilting it towards her slightly, with the corners of his lips curling upwards. _Bear claws_, _the deviant. _

Reaching for a sticky, delicious snack, she shook her head. "Nada. Just that the supposed murder weapon was found by a postal worker early this morning. Who knew 09ers still received snail mail? It was personalized wood implicating guess who."

"Well, if it looks like a murderer and smells like a murderer…" There was no mistaking the sarcasm in Logan's tone. He had been falsely accused twice now, he knew the drill.

"Ben gave Eve that bat when he found out she had a stalker," Zoey said defensively, frowning. Her voice was low. With good reason too, there were eyes and ears all over the county sheriff's office and Eve Martin had accused Deputy Masterson's son Holden of stalking her. "So that she could protect herself."

"Which we're going to need proof of if we want that story to stick because right now, things don't look too hot for Benji in between a murder weapon with his name _literally_ written on it and an eye witness seeing him on the scene the night she died."

Zoey had explained to Veronica about the bat being given to Eve already. A noble gesture on Ben Adams' part, no doubt, but one that seemed to be coming back to bite him in the ass now. Which was frustrating enough for Veronica, who was hoping that getting Benjamin Adams off the suspect list would be easy breezy.

It was suspicious though that it had taken four days and a mail carrier to find the murder weapon that the great officers of the law in Balboa County had been unable to. She would have thought that there was at least _one_ competent deputy who would have taken a peek in the bushes outside the Martin home, but maybe that was giving Lamb too much credit.

When Cliff McCormack finally emerged minutes later, Zoey was on her feet immediately, practically pouncing on the man. Veronica just lifted her head slightly at first, examining the old friend of the family. Cliff looked tired. It was as though Neptune was sucking all the energy out of him these days. Not that she couldn't blame him. She felt overwhelmed by it all lately, too.

"Give me some good news Cliffy!" She said finally, uncrossing her legs and standing up slowly.

"Well, he made bail, which means_ someone_ owes me a couple thousand dollars," Cliff drawled, walking over to them and putting his briefcase down at his feet, "That's about all the good news I've got because our friendly neighborhood sheriff seems to have a pretty solid case against him so far. A credible witness putting him at the scene, the murder weapon. It's all tied in a neat little bow."

"Who's this witness anyway?"

"The neighbor. You might know her actually, she went to Neptune High about the same time as you," Cliff said, as he leaned down to retrieve a file from his bag. Pulling a paper out, he handed it to Veronica, "Caitlin Moore, but she would have been Caitlin Ford back then."

Veronica turned and caught Logan's eyes. They definitely knew her alright and Veronica wasn't sure she would ever use the word credible in the same sentence as Caitlin Ford.

_And here I thought we already had our high school reunion. Silly Veronica._

* * *

Ex-girlfriends and Logan had never really mixed well. Of course, he had never been particularly attached to this particular ex. At the time that they dated, Caitlin had been merely a good distraction during the post-Lilly numbness he experienced. He'd been pretty drunk for the duration of their relationship, and then he found out that Chardo Navarro had been taking her out on his parent's dollar. She'd been as good as dead to him after that. He hadn't really given her a second thought since.

According to Dick, Caitlin had transferred out of Neptune High after being shunned by her peers. She'd attended some private all-girls high school before going off to USC, which Logan assumed was likely just a way to find herself a good prospective husband – which she did. That prospective husband was William Moore, a software pioneer who would become the protégé of none other than Jake Kane. He would move into a well-respected position in the reputable Kane Software immediately post-graduation and Caitlin Ford would get her rightful place back in the ranks of the Neptune elite.

It was the 09er fairytale ending. Logan wondered if she was fucking the pool boy for good measure.

Veronica hadn't wanted him to come with her to ask Caitlin about the night she saw Ben Adams at the Martin house, but he had insisted. Watching Veronica take on their former classmates was a sport. He had even been tempted to ask her to stop for beer on the way there.

Maybe they should have given Weevil and his gang a shout too, for old time's sake.

Before he could even park the sleek blue BMW in the Moore's driveway, it seemed like Veronica had jumped out of the car. She was like a heat seeking missile when on a case, there was absolutely no stopping her. It was something he both admired and feared. Conflicting feelings when it came to Veronica Mars was hardly a new thing for Logan though.

Walking up to the front steps behind her, Logan hung back, waiting silently as Veronica knocked on the door. He had promised to be there in a purely spectating capacity. He had no doubt that Veronica could more than handle Caitlin, anyway. She was hardly the sharpest tool in the shed.

The first thing that he noticed when Caitlin appeared was that it was possible her hair had gotten even blonder since he had last seen her, and that she had not lost her penchant for wearing was dressed in a full pink sweat suit, her hair pulled back with an equally pink imagined that there was some sort of yoga or Pilates video that they had interrupted, the kind of thing bored housewives occupied themselves with_. _

"Hi, Caitlin, I don't know if you remember me, I'm V-"

Caitlin cut her off, "I know who you are Veronica Mars." The tall blonde's blue eyes wandered over Veronica's shoulder and smiled when she settled on Logan. "Hi, Logan."

He nodded his head and gave her a little salute with his lips pressed together. There was no need to lie and tell her that it was good to see her, he was really indifferent to it.

To give credit where credit's due though, Veronica was using her sweetest tone of voice with Caitlin now. "Well then, I was hoping you could maybe answer a few of my questions about the other night when you allegedly saw Benjamin Adams at the Martins' place."

"I already told the deputies everything I know. That boyfriend of Eve Martin's was always sneaking in and out of the back door, I didn't think it was, like, anything weird until I saw all the patrol cars in the morning and Lizzie Martin told me that what happened. I knew I had to tell Sheriff Lamb then."

"And you're sure it was Ben Adams you saw?"

"Yeah," Caitlin leaned against the doorframe, bored. "It was his ugly blue car in the driveway."

"Did you see him leave? Did he drop anything? Throw anything in the bushes?" There was a familiar impatience in Veronica now, Logan noted. She was quickly growing weary of having to try and pry useful information out of the taller blonde woman. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face as he remembered all the times _he_ had given her a hard time in the past when she had come to him for answers.

"It was dark out and I don't really pay attention to the neighborhood trash."

When Veronica spoke again, every word was soaked in venom. "I seem to remember you letting the so-called neighborhood trash in _your_ backdoor once upon a time. How'd that work out for you again?"

Logan had to hold himself back from laughing as Caitlin gave her a disgusted look and then turned her gaze on Logan. "You should give me a call sometime, Logan, we can catch up." There was something seductive about the way she smiled at him then that made Logan want to visibly grimace.

He'd much rather not.

Before he could open his mouth to say as much, Veronica jumped in. "Hi, girlfriend standing _right here_. Don't make me destroy you again Caitlin, I would really, really enjoy it."

This time, he can't help but smile. She was still so cute when she was jealous.

* * *

As expected, Caitlin Ford was no help.

Veronica had been steaming the entire drive back to Mars Investigations after Logan had dropped her off at her car. It wasn't so much that Caitlin had provided little useful information that upset Veronica, she had seen what she had seen, but the _way_ she had talked about Ben. As though he was vermin because he didn't live in a big house or drive a fancy car.

It was the way the upper crust of Neptune had always looked at her, especially after her father had been run out of his position of sheriff after Lilly died. She was below them, she was lesser than them. And now, that reasoning was good enough to blame the lower class for whatever crimes they wanted to. They had enough money to buy a verdict.

Like Celeste Kane did with Weevil after she had shot him point blank months back.

"I want to nail them all to the wall," Veronica announced as she pushed through the doors of the office.

Mac looked up at her with a tilt of her head and her eyebrows furrowed together from behind her desk. Not that Veronica blamed her, she had definitely made quite the entrance. She was so tired of the way things happened in Neptune, California. Her dad wanted her to stay out of the seedy dealings in the Sheriff's department, but interactions with people like Caitlin Ford made it very difficult for her.

"Need any help with that, boss?"

Collapsing on the couch, Veronica leaned her head back and shook her head, "I just had a run-in with Caitlin Ford, our key witness putting Ben Adams at the scene of Eve's murder the night she died. Whoever told me I'd never have to see the mean girls from high school again after I graduated deserve a swift kick in the balls for lying."

"I had to see her at the Kane Software holiday party, she asked me how to turn on her computer for the slideshow," Mac commiserated, "I think there are bricks smarter than Caitlin."

With a sigh, Veronica offered Mac an appreciative smile. She had no idea where she would be without her friend by her side. For whatever reason, Mac had left her secure job at Kane Software to work for Veronica and Keith and she was eternally grateful for it. "What have you got for me, Q?" She pushed herself into a sitting position and rested her elbows on her thighs.

"Mr. Martin's alibi checks out. He was in New York for meetings when Eve was murdered, hopped the first plane back to California when he heard the news. Mom was at a banquet, about a hundred different people saw her there and she didn't leave until well after three in the morning."

"What happened to the good old days when alibis were so easy to break?" she joked, somewhat bitterly. She thought of the Kane family and how each one falsified their alibis after Lilly's murder. They had made the task of finding the real killer impossible and when she had, he was acquitted. "The sister?"

"A pre-finals beach party. Said she got home about 2 in the morning, went straight to bed. Didn't see her sister until she found her body."

"Pre-finals beach party?" she sighed, "Back in my day, we stayed up late guzzling energy drinks and hiding out in a badly lit library after dark. Ah, how the times have changed."

"Only 09ers," Mac shook her head. "Sorry, Bond, I've got all of zero leads on this, but I did get that coroner's report for you. Lamb's security is pretty much non-existent, so it was easy."

This perked Veronica right up. Jumping to her feet, she was hovering over Mac within seconds. "Always lead with the good news, Mac-Attack." She rested her hand on the back of her friend's chair and leaned over her shoulder, trying to read the computer screen. "What am I looking at?"

"This," with a laugh, Mac pointed at her computer screen, "Is the cause of death. A blow to the head, which we already guessed. And that over there is the approximate time of death. 2:30 am."

Veronica smiled. It was nice to have her gut be right about something. She had agreed to look into Eve Martin's murder and Ben's innocence because she had believed Zoey when she had come to her with her story. Even though there was still plenty of reason to maintain doubt, at least this was a step in the right direction. "Ben and Zoey say he was at her house by 11 and spent the night. Caitlin only saw him there around 10, that's hours before she died. If there's some way to prove that Ben was at Zoey's…"

"He was at that address in Jupiter Housing I gave you, right?" her friends asked, biting her lower lip as she hit some keys on her keyboard, "They have 24-hour surveillance within the gates of the community. Get your hands on those tapes, you might have footage of him somewhere on there."

"This is why you earn the big bucks, Mackenzie."

Turning to look at Veronica, the brunette raised an eyebrow at her, "Did I get a raise you didn't tell me about?"

"It was theoretical big bucks." She patted her best friend on the back, "But if I come into some extra cash, you're the first person to know. For now, let's see what we can do about some surveillance tapes."

* * *

Veronica lay tangled in a mess of blankets in his bed. The sun was creeping slowly up against the horizon, but Logan was already awake. He smiled to himself as he watched her, pulling out his phone.

With just a careful press of his thumb against the touch screen, he added another to the collection of pictures of sleeping Veronica he had on his phone. It had all started on the day he had deployed six months ago and picked up again the first night he had arrived back in Neptune. These were the moments, after all, that it was easiest to capture her. When she was still, peaceful.

He heard her take a deeper breath and stir under the covers. For an instant, he thought she was going to wake up, but then with a sleepy sigh she just rolled over onto his pillow.

He contemplated leaving her a note about how she was a bed hog.

Instead, he pulled on his shoes and quietly snuck out of the room. Gently shutting the door behind him as he went so as not to risk Dick stumbling in on her when he woke up later.

Logan had thought to invite his best friend out with him to catch some waves, but he had heard Dick stumble in long after he and Veronica had finally drifted off to sleep. He felt a little guilty. Since he had gotten back home, he'd not gotten to spend much time with his oldest friend. Dick seemed happy enough to have him home again though. How lonely had he been while Logan was gone?

His surfboard, freshly waxed, was waiting out on the porch when Logan walked out. With a grin, Logan lifted it under his arm and takes a deep breath. Despite having spent the last six months on a boat in the middle of the ocean, he never really got sick of the smell of salt in the air. He had missed having solid ground under his feet though. _And a beautiful blonde woman in my bed. _

This was the kind of life that Logan could get used to. Though a part of him would always been a little afraid to get _too_ used to it with their track record. The other show could drop at any moment.

"_Dude_!" He couldn't hide his surprise when he looked up to see Dick standing there, already dressed in his wetsuit and chugging an energy drink. It didn't look like it at first glance, and even if he didn't see the shadows under Dick's eyes, he still would have known that he didn't get enough sleep. "Is Ronnie letting you off your leash long enough to go surfing?"

Shaking his head, he steps down and gives Dick a playful shove, "Come on. Let me remind you who the master of the waves really is."

He worried about Dick. Staying out all night, not sleeping. Most people would see it as typical of him, but Logan knew better. There was a heaviness to Dick's shoulders and the light in his eyes didn't shine as brightly. The faint hint of alcohol in the air was also troublesome.

Suddenly it hit Logan that this is a hard time of year for Dick. So close to the anniversary of Beaver's – _Cassidy, _he had to remind himself- suicide. A sick feeling rose in Logan's stomach at the memory of Cassidy on the roof of the Neptune Grand. The look on his face before he jumped, it had haunted Logan for longer than he cared to admit. He hadn't been able to stop him, he hadn't been able to save him.

But he's never talked to Dick about it. He could never think of what to say to him that might make it easier to understand that what happened to his brother wasn't his fault. Not really.

Instead, he has just tried to be there for him as much as he could be. That's what he and Dick have always tried to do for one another, in their own way. It wasn't exactly a conventional, adult friendship, but it worked for them. But maybe it wasn't enough to just have him as a support system anymore.

"Hey, dude," Logan called out as he fell into step alongside Dick on their way out onto the beach, "Veronica and I are having dinner with Wallace and Mac next Friday, you should come."

"With Ghost World and Shaft? I don't think I'm going to be persona gratis there."

He laughed, he couldn't help but laugh as he slapped his friend on the shoulder. He didn't bother correcting Dick's poor Spanish, instead he just shook his head, "Just think about it."

* * *

It had been a long, painful afternoon. Veronica was sprawled on the couch of Mars Investigations while Mac fell asleep at her desk. No one had come in for a new case, so the pair have had all day to go through the surveillance tapes that Veronica managed to procure with the help of Charles White.

None of them are labelled because, unsurprisingly, Jupiter Housing's security cameras are supposed to serve more as a deterrent than an actual tool in making solving crimes – or confirming alibis – easier. They have skipped scene after scene of absolutely nothing happening.

"I really hate you," Mac groaned from her desk, "When we're done with this, I'm going to start plotting your death. And fair warning, I've gotten a lot more imaginative over the years."

Veronica peered over the top of her laptop screen, "You might not have to. I'm considering just shoving my head in the oven if I have to watch this for much longer. Rich people are much more interesting when they are checking into motel rooms to have illicit affairs with the nanny."

"I never get to see the juicy stuff."

"You're the tech, remember?" Veronica grinned and pointed at herself with her thumbs, "I'm the spy." Mac made a face as her eyes turned back to the screen. Curving her back, Veronica reached her hands above her head to stretch a bit. Every muscle in her body felt stiff, lazy from sitting on the old couch for so long. "I could use a break though, what do you say?"

"Pizza and beer?"

There was a hopefulness to Mac's tone that made her laugh and nod her head. Pizza and beer definitely sounded good. "Cho's Pizza? And maybe we can get Zoey and Ben to look through the rest of these if they want to prove his innocence." It wasn't a bad idea.

The pair started to gather up their things, Veronica ducking into her office to deposit her laptop on her desk. When she emerged again, Mac was no longer alone. She was smiling and talking to a dark figure standing in the room, hands shoved into the pockets of his track jacket. He turned when the floor creaked under the weight of her foot, dark brown eyes meeting her blue ones. The resemblance was uncanny.

"Hey, Veronica."

"Hi, Darrell. What's up?"

Darrell Fennel looked at his shoes for a second, kicking the air. "There's something maybe you should know."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I lied, this chapter sort of just wrote itself over the last few days. I also have to thank you all for your incredible support and wonderful feedback, y'all rock. **

_Chapter Seven_

Darrell Fennel stood a few inches taller than his older brother and just a little leaner. What made Veronica instantly think of her best friend when she saw him though was the way he carried himself, the confidence that settled right in on his shoulders. It didn't matter what anyone else said about him, he was comfortable in his own skin. In a way, she had always envied that about Wallace, his ability to be so _cool_ about everything.

Without him even needing to say ask she knew that if Darrell needed her help, Veronica was going to do whatever she could. She might not have really seen him since he was a kid, but Wallace was family and by extension, so was his little brother. She tilted her head to the side a little and motioned for him to take a seat, "What's going on?"

Mac had already slid back down in the chair behind her desk, leaning forward with a curiosity sparkling in her blue eyes. Of course Wallace told stories about his brother to them, how he had a bunch of scholarship offers and could be a huge basketball star if he wanted to be, but it was different having him sitting there in the Mars Investigations office.

"You can't tell anyone," the younger Fennel was almost vibrating with nervous energy, "She's going to kill me if she finds out I came here, I just thought it could help you, you know."

Veronica frowned, "Darrell, slow down. Tell me what it is."

There was a long moment where it seemed that he might be considering just taking off and forgetting about the whole thing. His mouth twisted a little and he took a deep breath. "I saw someone outside the Martin house the night Eve was killed."

This caught Veronica completely off guard. She had not anticipated that Darrell's information was going to have anything to do with the Eve Martin murder case. Her mouth hung open a little in shock, but she quickly tried to pull herself back together. "What were you doing at the Martin house that night?" She glanced at Mac, hoping that her friend might have some sort of explanation. After all, Mac had been living in Neptune this entire time, she might have heard _something._ The brunette just shook her head, looking utterly confused as well.

"I was dropping Rachel off."

"Eve's younger sister Rachel?"

Darrell nodded, "Yeah, we've been dating a couple months now."

"_Man_, Wallace is getting rusty on delivering the gossip."

"He doesn't know," Darrell shifted uncomfortably where he sat, "No one knows. Their mom hated Ben because she thought he wasn't good enough for Eve, can you imagine if Rachel brought home a poor _black_ kid?" He shook his head, "I'm leaving for college soon anyway and she's still in high school. We thought it was better to just, you know, not make a huge deal of it."

Veronica almost wanted to laugh. A secret relationship? Darrell was definitely channeling junior year Veronica on that one. She wondered, briefly, if the couple ever made use of her old office. The memory of her and Logan in the girl's bathroom caused the corner of her lips to twitch slightly upwards. They had shared some good memories. "_Ah_, forbidden love. So you went to the pre-finals beach party together, and then dropped her off at home?"

"Well, I picked her up at the party," he nodded, "But we didn't stay. Too many people there."

And she had thought that all of the Martins' alibis would actually turn out to be airtight. She ought to thank Rachel for proving her initial instinct right. "So, where did you go?"

"Uh," she could swear she saw Darrell flush in that moment, "That's kind of private..."

"Eve died that night, Darrell. Your privacy isn't really a thing anymore since you just became Rachel Martin's alibi. Where did you go?"

"The Sand Piper," his voice was low, "We..."

"Okay, you can keep some privacy," Veronica interrupted, holding her hand up in front of her to stop him from saying anymore. Hearing about Wallace's sex life was bad enough; she didn't need to hear about how his little brother was getting it on with Rachel Martin in a seedy motel room. "You two did your..._thing_ and then you drove her home. What happened next?"

"I always wait outside until the bedroom light comes on in her room. To make sure she's safe, you know?" he spoke as if that was the most natural thing in the world for a boyfriend to do. _Why would you be so worried about the safety of your girlfriend in her own house, especially when she lives in the 90909 zip where the sheriff's department is practically your personal security? _That was something Veronica intended to find out.

"Right," Veronica nodded her head, her skepticism clear even though she didn't mean it to be.

"Well, the light came on and I'm ready to go, but I see someone hightailing it from the backyard. He was big, you know, like football player big. He just ran like he was going for at touchdown or something. I've never seen someone move so fast."

"I guess you didn't get a good look at him?"

"It was too dark," Darrell shook his head, "But the next thing I know, this red Porsche is ripping off down the street. I figure it has to be the same guy."

"What time was this?"

"About 2:30. I called Rachel to make sure everything was okay and then I went home. I didn't even think about asking after Eve. She always just kind of took care of herself." That sounded familiar to Veronica, too. A young teenage girl who could look after herself, who did that remind her of? Maybe a certain tiny blonde amateur private investigator who didn't like accepting help from anyone unless it was a mutually beneficial back scratch?

2:30 was the approximate time of Eve Martin's death according to the coroner's report though. So, if Veronica could find a red Porsche driven by a brick wall-shaped man, she might just be in the business of finding Eve Martin's killer. _What was that you said about no leads, Mac? _

"You can't tell anyone, Veronica." Darrell said again and Veronica frowned this time. Did no one understand what a murder investigation meant?

"That's not really how this works." Of course, she would do her best to protect Darrell from becoming more involved in this than he needed to be, if she could. "But I'm going to try. I need to talk to Rachel, though."

Darrell looked a little sick at the thought of having to tell his girlfriend that their secret was now out, but he just nodded his head slowly.

* * *

Rachel Martin agreed to meet Veronica at a trendy little coffee shop on the other end of town. It was _just_ kitschy enough to attract the hipster slam poets from Neptune High, but not high enough on the social scale that 09ers would typically want to be seen there. She had a hard time imagining the Madison Sinclairs of the world sitting in bean bag chairs and listening to BANKS.

It was difficult to come off as casual and professional in this setting, but Rachel Martin had been insistent that _this_ was going to be the place they met. None of her friends would see them together this way, which made Veronica believe she was just a little _too_ paranoid.

"You're Veronica Mars, right?"

Veronica had been deciding whether she should give in and try one of their gluten-free muffins, the only thing they seemed to serve, when she heard the voice. Turning, she gave the younger girl a quick glance-over. Rachel Martin had the same bright green eyes as her sister, but her hair was a pale blonde color, gentle curls bouncing with each movement she made. She was small and sweet looking. If Veronica had to describe her, it would be 'cute as a button'.

Looking at the girl, it was hard to see her as someone who had been sneaking around behind everyone's back with Darrell Fennel for months. Veronica didn't get any real vibe of rebelliousness off of her, but she had been wrong about that sort of thing before.

"That's me," she nodded her head, "Do you know if this place has any real chairs because bean bags kind of make it hard for me to take myself seriously."

Rachel laughed and nodded her head, pointing to the coffee bar, "We can sit over there."

With a sweep of her hands, Veronica allowed the fifteen year old to lead the way. It was a chance to examine her a little more carefully when she didn't think that she was being watched. People tended to let their guard down in moments like this and Veronica wanted to catch Rachel in her natural state before she started to put on an act.

There was a bounce to her step that seemed out of place given the circumstances, but when she turned to face Veronica again after she hopped up onto the stool, there was a deep sadness in her eyes that seemed hard to fake. Everything about Rachel Martin was an odd contradiction to Veronica at first glance.

"Thanks for meeting me," she started, "I know Darrell said that you were nervous about it."

Rachel shrugged her shoulders slightly, pushing her blonde curls back out of her face, "I knew from Zoey that you were trying to help clear Ben, I just thought that if you knew I lied about where I was that night..."

"That I might try and pin the whole thing on you to get Ben off?" When Rachel nodded quickly and with just a hint of fear, Veronica couldn't help but laugh just a little. It appeared that even the rich kids of Neptune High could fear the corruption of their own town. "I believe Darrell, you're clear. Unless you lie to me. There are no second chances."

There was a moment of hesitation as Rachel chewed on her lower lip. She had more secrets and she was carefully considering whether telling Veronica would be hurtful or helpful. Veronica was hoping that she banked on helpful. She could use a break from having to pry information from teenagers the way she'd had to with Zoey and Ben earlier in the week.

"We'd been getting these weird messages, Eve and I," Rachel wrung her hands, "Phone calls, post-cards written in serial killer block letters, strange cars lurking outside the house in the middle of the night. Eve told me not to worry about it. That she was going to take care of it."

"Zoey said she was being stalked by Holden Masterson."

The younger girl shook her head, "If she was, this was something else. It was personal. They had videos and pictures of us as kids. It was creepy. I told D about it because I was scared."

_And that was why Darrell has been ever the gentleman, waiting outside her window every night. What are the odds of there being two separate people stalking Eve Martin though? If I was a betting woman, I'd say that _someone_ is lying. I just have to figure out _who_._

"I'm going to need to see some of those notes that the both of you got, if it's possible. They'd be helpful." When Rachel bobbed her head 'yes', Veronica continued. "Do you know anyone who drives a red Porsche like the one Darrell saw that night?"

"No, but whoever he was, I think _he_ probably killed Eve, not Ben." Rachel paused a second and added, "I just don't know how to help prove that Ben didn't do it though. I know he loved Eve, Veronica, in his own way. Even after what she did to him."

"I'll worry about getting Ben cleared," Veronica assured her, "You just get me those letters. And stay safe. If you can find a way to make sure you're not alone in your house, just in case."

Rachel nodded her head in understanding, but there was fear in her green eyes at the suggestion that she could be in danger. If someone had been trying to blackmail the sisters though, then there was a chance that Rachel Martin wasn't safe until they caught the real killer. It was better for her to be afraid than dead. Veronica didn't want to lose anyone else.

"I wish I had checked on Eve when Darrell called," the sadness from Rachel's eyes seeped into her voice now. Her voice was quiet and she didn't seem to be talking to Veronica at all anymore. Not really. The bounciness that she had exhibited before fell away and Veronica realized that it had been an act all along, the happy-go-lucky attitude. "Or come home earlier..."

Survivor's guilt was something that Veronica knew well enough, both from what she had experienced after Lilly's death, and the bus crash. Not to mention, her psychology classes at Stanford. Being the one left behind to pick up the pieces after something as brutal as this, it weighed on you. _What could I have done to save her? Nothing, Veronica, there was nothing you could have done._ It was a question she had asked herself so many times in the past and exactly what she decided to tell Rachel now. "There was nothing you could have done, you have to believe me, but what you can do _now_ is make sure that we find that sucker and make him pay."

She hadn't been able to make Aaron Echolls pay for what he had done to Lilly, but maybe she could help Rachel see it done this time. Maybe that would be peace enough for everyone.

* * *

It was so rare that Veronica ever allowed her mind to go blank, but she did now as she lay in bed curled up against the warmth of Logan's body. Closing her eyes, she rested her head on his chest and just listened to his slow, even breaths. There was a kind of peace in it that Veronica found so foreign. An intimacy that she rarely allowed. She might have just a few trust issues.

No, Veronica _knew_ that she had trust issues. So much of her life after Lilly's death, with her rape and her mother abandoning their family, had been spent keeping her distance from people. The fact that she had been in a relationship with Piz for a year without meeting his parents or his friends was proof enough of that. Even Wallace and Mac had been kept at arm's length. Whatever she could do to keep herself from getting hurt.

Which, thinking about it now, wasn't all that different from Logan's psychotic jackass routine.

But as long and as far as she could run, Veronica always seemed to find her way back home. Mac, Wallace, Logan, they were her people. They were her family, for better or worse. And it was time she started acting like it.

She had meant what she said to Logan. She wasn't going to run away again. Not from their relationship and not from Neptune. Ten years had passed. Veronica was no longer an eighteen year old kid with a chip on her shoulder. She was an adult, she knew what she wanted and she was going to take it. That didn't mean that old habits didn't die hard, but she was doing her best.

Forgiving and forgetting was not something that she was built to do, but since she stepped off that plane and saw Logan for the first time in almost a decade, she had been trying to. _Bygones_, maybe it wasn't such a bad way to lead her life. Leave the past in the past. She had never been any good at it, but she was willing to give it her best shot when it came to their relationship. After all, digging up the past had only ever caused them more trouble than it was worth.

And maybe now it was time to let it all go. She was getting tired of running away, of losing people.

"Logan…" her voice was a whisper, shifting her body and moving her head up closer to his.

"Hmm?" His eyes were closed and he looked almost angelic, laying there so still and quiet.

Her voice was soft when she spoke again, "I love you."

At those three little words, Logan's eyes snapped open. She had never said them to him before, not really. The closest she had come to it had been just before their second break-up, when they had fought because Logan had hired someone to follow her. His surprise was not misplaced.

Veronica had always lost her nerve when tempted to say it before, or something had happened to make her push away. Like Madison Sinclair. The last time she had been about to, Zoey White had interrupted them. Now, there was no reason to avoid it, no reason to not to tell him.

Logan, for his part, kept staring at her in surprise.

"Now would be a good time to say something," she prompted, poking him in the ribs.

His brown eyes were so intense that when he responded, there was no way that she could not believe the words that came from his mouth with every fiber of her being. "I _love_ you, Veronica."

* * *

There was a certain high that carried Logan through the next few days. It came with knowing, _finally_ knowing that Veronica Mars loved him. Until the other night, he had always had his doubts.

How could he not? She had hooked up with Duncan again almost immediately after they had broken up the first time. Then, when he had told her that he loved her again a year later, he'd had to practically pull the words from her lips. _Do you love me, Veronica? _A part of him had been convinced that she didn't. That, like Lilly, Veronica would never love him the way he loved her.

And then she had said it.

He wished that he could have seen her face, could have committed to memory the way that she had looked that first time she told him, genuinely, how she felt about him. History had not allowed Logan to believe that she meant to tell him back at Lilly's fountain before they got interrupted, but now he imagined that it was the look she'd had on her face in that moment that she'd also had the night before in bed as they lay together wrapped up in each other's arms.

There was never a day in the past ten years where Logan had stopped loving Veronica. In the height of their first year together, he had loved Carrie, too, but he had never been able to give his heart to anyone the way he had to Veronica Mars. She had to be the one to say it this time though because Logan would not allow himself to go down that path only to get hurt again when she didn't say it back. He had come too far for that.

Now, nearly a decade later, she finally had. Veronica Mars certainly took her time.

Those three words had propelled him forward with ease to dinner with Wallace and Mac until he stood in front of the door to Mac's loft and suddenly a new wave of dread washed over him. Both Veronica and Mac had been insistent that he should come, that it would be fun to get them all together, but Logan worried that he would still feel like an outsider among the three old friends. There was an ease to their friendship he had never really been a part of.

Veronica must have seen the look on his face because she slipped her hand into his easily then, "Last chance to bail. We can run away to Reno and blow all our money on hookers and booze instead." She nudged him a little with her elbow and Logan could tell there was a half-seriousness to the suggestion. Some things never changed.

"I think your dad can track us down before we even get out of Neptune," Logan shook his head, "Besides, if we blow all our cash in Reno, I have to keep living with Dick and you're just going to have to get used to catching him walking around commando in the morning."

Veronica made a face, "The two of you are so co-dependent, I'm not sure you could even live apart, anyway." She relented though and finally lifted her hand to knock on the door.

Wallace answered it with a wide, lopsided grin that immediately made Logan relax as they greeted each other. While he and Wallace might have started off on the wrong foot all those years ago, they had found common ground in their own time. They had never defined each other as friends, but they had been friendly. Logan regretted being worried that anything would be different with them when he showed up here with Veronica now.

"Can someone explain to me why Van Wilder is in my kitchen drinking beer and asking me if I have the complete series of 'The L Word'?" Mac joined them at the door now, standing with her hands on her hips. Her blue eyes were intense as she watched the two of them, waiting. It had not been a rhetorical question.

"That would be my fault," Logan admitted, which granted him a confused look from the petite blonde at his side. "I invited Dick. I thought he could use a night that didn't revolve around eating his special brownies and playing Call of Duty online. I wasn't sure he would come."

"Well he brought his belt flask," Mac added, with a hint of disdain to her voice, "So I'm holding you personally responsible for any and all inappropriate behavior he exhibits." As an afterthought, she added, "And keep him out of my stuff."

Logan couldn't keep a smile from spreading on his face. With a firm nod, he saluted Mac. He was on the case.

"So I think this calls for some alcohol for the rest of us?" Veronica piped in enthusiastically, dropping her hand from Logan's, "Any takers? Speak now or forever stay sober." When both men raised their hands, Veronica grabbed Mac and headed towards the kitchen, leaving Wallace and Logan alone.

"How long do you think I have before she starts plotting how to get my head mounted on her wall ?" Logan asked, referring to Mac. His best friend and the tiny computer geek had a tense history, at best, and Dick had never been the most sensitive person around.

"Considering Dick's called me Denzel once and Willis twice since he got here, I'd say not long," Wallace laughed, shaking his head, "And Mac's not exactly a Tai Chi master."

Logan laughed, "Well, if I'm going to die, might as well make it interesting. Friendly wager?"

"Are you sure you want to do that? Last time you made a bet with me, you ended up streaking through Sociology class because you lost." Logan remembered the prison experiment they had both volunteered for during their Freshman year at Hearst and the bet he had lost to Wallace when the guards had won out over the prisoners after a clever ruse plotted by the other man.

"I've never played the odds before, why start now?"

From the kitchen, they could hear Mac saying Dick's name with a sigh of frustration. Wallace turned to Logan and patted him on the back with a laugh, "You might want to reconsider that strategy."

* * *

The boys had relocated to the living room to exhibit their manhood by watching some sporting event or another while Veronica and Mac had temporarily set themselves up at her kitchen table. Despite guise of weekly dinner being what brought them all together, no food was being prepared. As usual, someone was likely going to have to make a run to get take-out for them all. Veronica could not say how often Mac's living room had ended up littered with cartons of Chinese food on the evenings they spent together here.

"So, I have something to show you," Mac's fingers worked furiously on the keyboard of her computer as she pulled something up on her screen before tilting her screen to Veronica. "I kept going through those surveillance videos and I found this on the day Eve Martin was killed."

"A red Porsche?" Veronica leaned over slightly, examining the grainy screen cap her friend had pulled up, "That can hardly be a rare thing to find in the elite confines of Jupiter Housing."

"I thought so, too, but it was too much of a coincidence to not look a little more into it, so I channeled my inner Veronica Mars," Mac offered her friend a smile and Veronica shook her head in pride, S_he says she's just a techie_. "There's no Porsche registered to anyone living in Jupiter."

Veronica rubbed her hands together, "And the plot thickens."

"I'm still working on finding a clear image of the licence plate to work with."

"Do we know where it went?"

"It showed up on three different camera between 3:00 and 3:05 that afternoon before disappearing," Mac shook her head, "I've narrowed it down to about a block radius of houses that the cameras never get a clear shot of."

"And let me guess, the White house is in that radius?" Her friend nodded and Veronica laughed. _Of course it is._ "Thanks for all the work you put into this, Mac. I know it's not exactly a financially beneficial use of your talents."

The brunette shrugged, "I know you're good for it and I'm happy to help you nail the guy who did this. I know what it means to you." Their eyes met and Veronica knew that she really did understand, but that was all Mac was going to say on the subject. Veronica appreciated that, too. "Nothing on Ben yet though, I haven't gotten far enough into the footage."

At least they had finally found the right day in the tapes. They were moving one step closer to potentially being able to help prove Ben Adams' innocence and maybe even one step closer to finding the red Porsche. That was progress, as far as Veronica was concerned.

A knock on Mac's door interrupted their shop talk and Veronica sent a confused look in the direction of the sound. They weren't expecting anyone else to join them and there was no one Veronica could logically think it would be, unless Mac was hiding a secret lover from her. From the look on her friend's face though, she gathered that wasn't the case.

Mac headed to the door with Veronica following close behind. The boys had not moved at all from their sport on the couch, all three of them leaning forward slightly towards Mac's television set, pools of water accumulating on their hands where they gripped their beers. It was baffling to her sometimes, the things that could hold their undivided attention like this.

"Did you boys order a stripper? We leave you alone for two minutes..." She was joking, but her gaze fell on Wallace as Logan pulled her down onto his lap and Dick made a remark about them getting a room. Her best friend was looking suspiciously guilty. An anxious feeling suddenly rose in her chest. _What did you do, Fennel?_

The voice that came from behind the door as Mac opened it only made her chest constrict more. _We should have run away to Reno_.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: As always, thank you for the wonderful feedback. This has probably been the hardest chapter for me yet, I really hope you enjoy. **

_Chapter Eight_

If looks could kill, there would be dead bodies littering Mac's living room right about now. Wallace would have been the first to drop, Logan was sure of that. No one had perfected _that_ look quite like his girlfriend; he had been on the receiving end of it enough himself to know. In the meantime, he was caught in a heated staring contest with one Stosh Piznarski. The pair had hardly ever been each others' biggest fans and that was not likely to ever change, either.

"Hey, aren't you that Pez guy Ronnie used to date? Logan bashed your face in for that sex tape thing, what's up?" Leave it to Dick to break the tension with his sensitive comments. Logan didn't know whether to laugh or step in before someone decided to punch his best friend.

"Thanks for reminding me," there was no trace of amusement in Piz's voice, "I had almost forgotten the pieces of my skull still floating around in my head." His eyes locked on Logan again, pointedly making sure the sarcasm was noted. There was no need though, sarcasm was his native tongue. He had already apologized though and he wasn't about to do it again.

Dick shrugged and pulled out his flask, remaining oblivious to the discomfort of the rest of the room. Logan had to appreciate how nonplussed Dick could be in times like these. It was an accomplishment that he had never quite grasped himself. Even now, his face betrayed all of his emotions as Veronica quickly slipped off his lap. Somehow, they always ended up back here.

"I think I'm just going to go," Piz pointed to the closed door behind him when the room lapsed into silence again, "If you give me your key, I'll just meet you back at your place, Wallace."

Surprising everyone in the room, Logan leaned forward and held a hand up to stop him, "You should stay, man. Really." The invitation was out of his mouth before he had even registered it.

Everyone was looking at him now, their shock unmasked. He shrugged. Someone had to be the bigger man and the memory of Veronica saying 'I love you' was still fresh enough in his mind for Logan to allow himself to be. Or maybe he just wanted a chance to gloat. He had, after all, won.

Piz hesitated for a moment, looking between Logan and Veronica, who was grabbing Wallace's arm now. "We need to talk," she hissed, dragging him into Mac's bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind her before anyone could say another word. Mac stood in the void between the three men, looking as uncomfortable as Logan had ever seen her before.

"So, how about them Padres?" he joked. If this wasn't the most awkward ensemble of people to be left in a room alone together, he didn't know what was.

* * *

Veronica had not been able to breathe from the second she had seen Piz standing at the door. It had been one thing for her friends to invite him to their high school reunion over six months ago, but it was another thing altogether for him to be here now. She couldn't help but be pissed at Wallace. Hadn't he learned anything? Veronica Mars _did not_ like surprises.

"At least you're not ruining my girl's bathroom fantasies anymore." Wallace had stumbled into Mac's room ahead of Veronica, moving over to lean against her dresser as Veronica glared at him, "Now don't give me that look, I didn't know Logan was going to be here."

"So, because you didn't know Logan was coming that makes it okay for you to invite my ex-boyfriend to dinner? What is he even doing in Neptune?" He was supposed to be in New York, living his life, being happy, moving on. He wasn't supposed be here making her feel guilty all over again for the way she had treated him, for moving on so quickly. She had enough to deal with without adding that to her plate.

"You've ignored him for six months. He just wants to talk, and give you your stuff back."

"He could have mailed it, what more is there to say?"

Wallace frowned at her now, shaking his head. "That's cold, V. Look, I know you and Logan are a thing again and I hope you can make it work this time, but Piz is still my friend. He deserves some closure and not just some sad excuse of a break-up over the phone."

He was right. Veronica knew he was, but she hated to admit it. Closure wasn't really her forte. Her first boyfriend had dumped her without explanation; her second boyfriend had used her and then tried to flee the country with his father's stolen car and a hidden stash of steroids. When she'd tried to date her aforementioned first boyfriend again, he was forced to go on the lam. They hadn't spoken to each other again ever since, they couldn't in fear of the FBI catching him. She wouldn't even get started on her and Logan, that was far too complicated.

Piz deserved better though, he deserved more than what he'd gotten from her. He was a good guy, probably the best guy she had ever dated outside of Leo. She sighed and nodded her head, begrudgingly. "Yeah, okay, but I draw the line at holding hands and singing Kumbaya."

Wallace laughed and wrapped his arms around her shoulder, "Veronica Mars, always the marshmallow." She could only roll her eyes at him as he led them back into the living room.

The mood had not changed at all in the time they had been gone. Everyone seemed so tense. Mac was sitting on the floor by her comfy armchair, which Piz now sat in, staring intently at her computer screen as though she could write a code that would somehow make her disappear. Which was exactly what Veronica felt like doing at that precise moment. Logan and Dick had turned their attention back to the game on television, but their former enthusiasm was lacking, even as Wallace jumped over the top of the couch to sit between them again, asking the score.

Veronica took a deep breath. Meg Manning had told her once that it was as if she was gearing up for battle when she did that, which was exactly how she felt now. "I'm sorry," Veronica offered. She was looking at Piz directly now, "You really are welcome to stay."

Her ex-boyfriend just shook his head, "I just want to talk, Veronica. I'm moving out of the apartment next week. I need to give you your stuff back, find out what you want to keep."

Veronica willed herself to ignore the feeling of Logan's eyes, hot on the back of her neck. She didn't want to see how confused, hurt, or angry he might look, couldn't bear to deal with that on top of Piz right now. "We can talk," she nodded her head quietly and motioned to the door of the loft. Piz led the way and she followed, not daring to look behind her.

Leaning against the wall once they were in the hallway, Veronica watched Piz quietly. He looked good. His hair had grown out slightly in the last six months; he seemed to have packed on some muscle, too. It was nice, in a strange way, to see him again.

"You're moving out of the apartment?" she asked finally, breaking their silence. There was nothing surprising about it. The only reason either of them had been able to afford the place for the last six months of their relationship was because they had been splitting rent in half. New York apartments didn't come cheap, especially not in Manhattan.

"Yeah, well, some guys from work were looking for a third roommate," Piz shrugged and stared at his shoes, "Seemed like too good a deal to pass up when your girlfriend jumped ship to the one place in the world she said she never wanted to go back."

She sighed, "I had to stay, Piz. My dad..." _This job. Logan. There's a long list of reasons I stayed in Neptune, I just don't think he would understand them all. _Piz had always put her on a pedestal she never felt she could live up to. Not even years later, in a different city, as different people.

"So, how long did it take then?"

Suddenly tears rose to her eyes and she blinked them back willfully. The accusation in Piz's voice was undeniable. He wasn't just asking if she had jumped into bed with Logan the second he had dumped her, but also if she had cheated on him before that. He had been so trusting when she had first left New York for Neptune, but she had meticulously chipped away at that trust the longer she had stayed to help Logan see his way through murder charges.

In the end, she had bailed on meeting his parents and he had ended their relationship.

Veronica had been sad, of course she had been. A year of her life had been spent wrapped up with Piz. They had lived together in a small Manhattan apartment, more out of convenience than she cared to admit, and had quietly talked about a life together when she finally passed the bar exam and got herself a job at a fancy law firm. Their plans had never been concrete, just two kids dreaming up a life together with a nice house in the suburbs and a white picket that had always bored Veronica to death, but it had seemed nice, pleasant at the time.

Then, she had been about to pass the bar, had a dream job lined up, was going to finally meet his family, and everything suddenly felt too real, too possible.

And Logan had broken nine years of silence between them.

"I don't..." she started, shaking her head and looking down at her hands. Guilt pulsed through her body, making her stomach turn violently. How was she supposed to answer? _It took one day Piz, one day before I found myself back in Logan's arms. _No, she couldn't say that because Veronica had never wanted to hurt Piz. He had never been anything but nice to her.

She hadn't meant to jump right back into Logan's arms, either. She had decided to stay in Neptune for herself, not for him, but then her father had nearly died and she had found herself, for the first time, really needing someone.

No, not just needing someone. She had found herself needing _Logan_. He had been there to take care of her, as he always had been before, and that had been enough for her to realize that she didn't want to let him go, that she _never_ wanted to let him go, again. No matter how hard things could be, Veronica wanted a chance to see it through.

Then, he had left for six months and in that time Veronica hadn't been able to bring herself to contact Piz, or to go back to the little box of an apartment they had shared together to collect her things. Now here he was, looking at her with sad, defeated blue eyes.

"I should have known better, you know." He shrugged his shoulders, "Wallace warned me from the start and I knew when I saw you two in the cafeteria that I never really had a shot. I was just a distraction, a nice guy who actually treated you well."

"Piz that's not-"

He cut her off, holding his hand up in front of him with a firm shake of his head that said, _let me finish_. "I was, though. That's how you saw me. And the two of you had this thing that was inevitable. I got over it when you left Hearst, until last year. This is on me, Veronica. I forgot that no matter what anyone does, he's always going to win. I got fooled, again."

There was nothing that Veronica could do to argue with him. Absolutely nothing that she could say that would make this any better. She felt like the absolute worst person in the world. She had never deserved someone like Stosh Piznarski. He deserved someone who could love him and give back all the wonderful things he offered, someone with less emotional baggage. Veronica had too many sharp edges for someone as soft and caring as Piz.

"I'm _so_ sorry, Piz." Her voice was soft and she forced herself to meet his eyes now, "I never meant to hurt you. Me being back here – us, none of it had anything to do with Logan, not really. That just kind of...happened along the way, which is kind of the status quo, I guess."

"Yeah, well, I'm not going to wait around for the latest act to finish." His bitterness was unmistakable and the words hurt Veronica a little. Was a future break-up between her and Logan just as inevitable as their getting back together? Things were going so well between them lately, but then again, things had always started off this way in the past, too.

"So, I guess being friends is out of the question then?" There was an edge of sarcasm to the words as she heaved an exhausted sigh. Of course they weren't going to be friends, had Veronica _ever_ stayed friends with any of her ex-boyfriends before? The answer was a resounding no, she never had. She probably never would be, either.

"Yeah, I don't think so, Veronica," he sighed and gently touched her arm, "You can take the girl out of Neptune..."

Her lips pressed together in a sad, slow smile. _But you can't take Neptune out of the girl._

* * *

"_Dude_, your name is _Cindy_?"

Logan had been trying to listen to the muffled voices of Veronica and Piz behind the door, which had left Dick unsupervised long enough for him to find Mac's Neptune High yearbook under a stack of tech magazines. Logan was surprised that she had even kept it. It wasn't like high school had been the best of times for any of them.

"I shouldn't be impressed that of all the books I have lying around, you choose the only one with pictures in it," Mac was snatching it out of his hands now, slamming it shut and shoving it back under the pile it had appeared from.

"Cindy though, that's such a _girly_ name," Dick continued his wander around the living room, touching and moving everything in sight. Logan could feel Mac glaring at the back of his head.

"Maybe that's because I am a girl, Dick."

"I just thought your name _was_ Mac. You know, cause it's masculine and butch, kind of like you."

Logan jumped to his feet then and grabbed Mac by the shoulders before she could maul Dick. "Down, girl." He glanced at his best friend and wondered, briefly, if it had been the worst possible idea to invite him to this dinner. He wasn't sure why he had even considered it in the first place; it wasn't like Dick had changed that much over the last decade.

"I'm going to kill him," Mac warned, "And I'm going to make it look like an accident."

"Whoa, calm down Cindy," Dick held both of his hands up in the air, "We're all good here. No need for you to go all _Veronica Mars_ on me."

"Aw, did you hear that, honey, my name is synonymous with crazy bitch now." Veronica was back in the room with them; her arms were crossed in front of her chest, watching them all with a hint of defiant amusement behind her blue eyes, a patented Mars expression.

"What happened to Piz?" Mac asked as they all looked over at her now He had not come back into the apartment with Veronica, something that Logan had noticed immediately.

"I gave him my spare key to Wallace's; he's just going to hang out there tonight."

"Do I even want to know how many more copies of my key you have?" Wallace was shaking his head and Logan knew he had resolved himself a long time ago to what being friends with Veronica Mars meant, which included a lack of privacy. A lack of privacy that only worked one way as no one dared ask Veronica what had happened with her ex-boyfriend in the hall.

The blonde's mouth twisted thoughtfully, pressing her index finger to her lips before shaking her head and pointing to Wallace, "No, you don't." Then, she turned towards the rest of their group, "Now , I think we should get the odd couple here out of an enclosed space before Mac finds the gun in my purse and frames me for Dick's murder."

"Shit, dude, she has a gun now?" Dick looked incredulously at Logan with wide blue eyes. "Who let Ronnie have a gun?"

"The wonderful state of California, Dick," she said with a grin, a hint of mischief hidden there. Logan was still more afraid she'd use her taser on Dick than the gun though. Not that he didn't deserve it on most occasions. Veronica didn't miss a beat, "So, how about we haul ass out of here, get some hot dogs and hit the beach?"

As everyone mumbled their unenthusiastic agreement, Logan watched Veronica. He knew her too well to believe the enthusiastic front she was putting on. And while Logan knew that he shouldn't worry about a conversation with her ex-boyfriend after the other night, he really couldn't help it. History had not been kind to him, or their relationship.

She had never cheated on him though. Veronica wasn't Lilly or Carrie. She wouldn't do that. That didn't mean she didn't still have the ability to rip his heart out of his chest. In fact, she was better equipped than most to do just that. Logan just had to put his faith in her, as hard as that might be, and hope that things really had changed for them now.

"Maybe there's a party on Dog Beach we can crash for old time's sake." Logan moved over to her now, wrapping his arm around her and kissing the top of her head. He could have sworn he felt the tension in her shoulders melt away the second he did, her body relaxing into him.

"Old time's sake?" Veronica tilted her head to the side and furrowed her eyebrow, "If I remember correctly, you and Dick used to _throw _those parties. _We_-" she pointed to herself first and then Wallace and Mac, "Used to be the ones crashing."

Logan laughed and pulled her more tightly against him. He could trust her; he had to. Otherwise, he might just lose himself. They had gone too far down the rabbit hole already, there was no getting back out of it in one piece.

* * *

It was a warm night, the light ocean breeze refreshing as the sun set over Balboa County. Veronica had taken her shoes off almost immediately on arrival, her toes curling through the sand as she sat and stared off at the horizon. She had spent a lot of time out here since she had gotten back to Neptune, the California girl inside of her drawn to the beach after being out on the East Coast for so long. This was home.

She was thinking about Eve Martin, of Zoey and Ben, when her thoughts had wandered to Lilly, as they tended to do since Mac had first shown them the news report. _You told me not to forget about you, but I did, Lilly. I forgot about you for a while there. _And it had made her feel guilty that she had. The words might have come to her in a dream, but she had still made a promise and broken it. That image of Lilly in her head, the one that used to be so bright and vibrant, so full of life, had been fading slowly year after year until she couldn't remember the exact shade of green of her eyes or the sound of her laugh.

Veronica wondered what Lilly would have thought about her relationship with Logan. What she would have thought about Piz. Or would she even have met him at all, if Lilly were alive?"

"Lilly would have broken him." Logan's voice startled her. When had he sat down there? His shoulder was practically brushing against hers, his arms spread out over his bent knees in front of him. There was a flush to his cheeks that hinted he had just been running, he'd had a game of Frisbee going with Wallace and Dick just seconds earlier.

"How did you-"

"How did I know you were thinking about Lilly?" the corner of his lip twitched up into a smirk, "You forget that I _know_ you, Veronica. And that look?" He pointed to her face then, "That's the look you get whenever you think about her."

Logan did know her, better than anyone else. He had seen the best and worst of Veronica and even nine years apart hadn't changed that fact. It was exactly why it was so easy for them to slip into old habits. Even a hundred years apart could not have changed that.

After a beat, Logan was speaking again. "So, you lived with him, huh?" His voice was low, neutral, but Veronica knew what he was thinking behind that blank expression, those slightly raised eyebrows. It had taken her ten years to even say 'I love you' to him, but she had shacked up with her ex-boyfriend within a year of dating.

"Yeah," she nodded her head, brushing the strands of hair the wind blew into her face as she watched him, "When I first moved to New York, I was living with this girl I met at Stanford, Bellamy." Logan made a face at her then and she laughed, adding, "I know. Why can't parents give their kids normal names like _Apple _or _Coco_?" She paused and waited for Logan to laugh before she continued, "Anyway, she had to go and get engaged to her high school sweetheart and move out. _Super_ inconsiderate, right? Piz and I had gotten back together a few months before and he suggested that we move in together. It just made sense."

"How romantic of you," Logan quipped and she rolled her eyes at him.

For some reason though, she kept talking. "I was supposed to meet his parents, you know, before I came back here." She laughed bitterly at the thought, "We actually broke up over the phone when he picked them up at the airport because I wasn't on my way to New York."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it wasn't your fault," she shook her head, "I just did what I do best, I ran away. I knew that if I met them, then it was only a matter of time before we were talking seriously about getting married in the country or moving to _fucking_ Beaverton and having 3.5 kids. I'd have a small family law office and be home in time to put dinner on the table every night."

"Little Veronica Homemaker," he teased.

Veronica made a face, "It's so _normal_."

"Normal can be nice."

"Is that why you were dating Carrie Bishop?" her tone was defensive when she knew it shouldn't be. Logan hadn't said anything that she hadn't thought herself. Wasn't that partly why she had left Neptune and the spy life behind, to try and have a normal life, a normal relationship?

"Your version of normal and mine are a little different," he pointed out quietly, "Normal for me was movie sets, nannies, and late night parties. Yours was family dinners and county fairs."

"That stopped being normal for me when Lilly died," Veronica looked away from him then and motioned down the beach to where Mac and Wallace were pulling a stumbling, drunk Dick away from a group of young teenage girls who had the misfortune of being out for a walk with Dick on the loose, "_This_ is normal for me now."

"The Island of Misfit Toys," Logan mused quietly and Veronica couldn't help laugh when he referenced _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_ to their lives. Yet, in some strange way, it fit.

They lapsed into silence for a moment, Veronica leaning into Logan as his arm wrapped around her. "You know, I lied before," she said and felt bad for wording it that way immediately as Logan's body tense around her, "When I said I ran away. I didn't. I just came home again."

"It's good to have you back."

Looking up at him she smiled, "It's good to be back." And when she said it, she wasn't lying.

* * *

The late hour had sneaked up on them. The moon had risen and the stars were slowly blinking on in the sky, but they had all remained at the beach. By now, their shoes were scattered in the sand and would potentially be lost by the time the group wandered to try and retrieve them. None of them seemed to mind though as they had gathered around the small fire that Logan had started. He kind of wished he and Dick kept marshmallows at the house right now, the nostalgic feeling of the campfire had suddenly brought the craving on.

Veronica was wrapped up in his sweater, her head resting on Mac's shoulder as they sipped on their beer and watched the flames. It was rare to see her be this affectionate with other people, but her friendships with Wallace and Mac, her trust in them, had been earned over the years. As Veronica had put it earlier that very afternoon, these were her people. Wallace sat on one side of Logan with Dick, who had drifted off to sleep some time ago, on the other.

"We should do something," Logan flicked the cap of his beer in the air, catching it in the palm of his hand, "Anyone know any good drinking games?" Of course, he knew that he was likely to know all the best ones. Binge drinking, after all, had been his niche back in high school and college. He could probably count on one hand how many times he had seen any of them, Dick excluded, drunk.

"Are you sure you want to play against me?" Wallace asked, "You're already on a losing streak."

"Did you two make another bet?" Veronica looked over at them, curiosity shining in her eyes. Or maybe that was just the flickering light of the flames. Logan would have bet on the former, but as Wallace had pointed out, lady luck didn't seem to be on his side that afternoon.

With a smile, he explained it to her, "On how long it would take before Mac started to plot my death for inviting Dick over." The sleeping figure of his best friend mumbled something incoherently at the mention of his name. "As we all know, I lost pretty early on."

"Is there anyone in Neptune who hasn't seen you naked already though?" Through the shadows, he could see the way that Veronica's mouth curled up into a smile, "If you streak through an elementary school next, I'm letting Sheriff Lamb lock you up and throw away the key."

"So, does that mean I don't get conjugal visits?"

"Only with your hand."

"Let's save the foreplay for the bedroom," Mac piped in, Wallace miming his agreement. "How about 'I Never'? There are no winners or losers, just embarrassing admissions and lots of drinking. We have a long way to go because we catch up to Sleeping Beauty over there."

Logan and Veronica locked gazes across the fire, both remembering the last time they had played that game together. It was back in their Sophomore year, right before Lilly died. They had all skipped Homecoming to drive around in his dad's limo drinking champagne and playing all the party games they could think of, including 'I Never'.

"Do we even want to catch up?" Wallace asked, glancing at Dick now, "I mean, it's just sad to see a grown ass man like that passed out on the beach by midnight."

"For Dick, this is a Tuesday." Though Logan really shouldn't joke about it. He worried about Dick. Worried about how much he drank. He didn't know when he had become a rational, stabilizing figure. Maybe it was when he had woken up at the bottom of a bottle and realized that he had a choice. Waste his life or find something useful to do with it, find a way to make a difference. He chose the latter. "I say we play Flip, Switch and Strip."

Mac eyed him suspiciously, "That sounds an awful lot like foreplay and personally, I don't want to run the risk of Edward Grabbyhands waking up and seeing my boobs."

"At least then he'd know you're a girl," Logan teased and Mac glared at him.

As far as Logan was concerned, this was the start of a beautiful friendship. He was starting to feel as though maybe this was normal for him, too. Maybe he could make these people his family, too.

* * *

When Veronica woke up, her head was pounding

Had she really had that much to drink last night? She couldn't really remember. Opening her eyes, she half expected to be looking up at the blue of the sky, to feel the sand under her hands as she pushed herself up into the sitting position. It was Logan's ceiling she saw though, his soft bed that her palm sunk into. There wasn't, however, a Logan shaped heat-source next to her.

The smell of food wafting in from the kitchen suggested that perhaps, her Navy Lieutenant boyfriend was up making breakfast for her. _A girl could get used to this. _And Veronica was really hoping that she would, despite knowing that eventually Logan would have to ship out again.

Stretching her arms above her head as she shuffled into the kitchen, she asked, "Do I smell bacon?"

Logan was standing by the stove in just a pair of draw-string pajama pants and a white scoop neck t-shirt. A white t-shirt that was an unwelcome sight until she realized that her friends were sitting in the kitchen, each nursing a cup of coffee. Apparently they'd had a sleep-over.

"You didn't tell me your boy could cook," Wallace greeted, "I would have approved a lot sooner. Between his bacon and your snickerdoodles, I'm all set."

Logan turned his head to look back at them, a brow furrowed slightly, "You never baked me snickerdoodles."

"That's because being a jackass wasn't a recognized Neptune High sport, even if you were the best at it." She grinned at him playfully before turning back to her friends, "Now tell me you didn't drink all the coffee."

Mac held a mug out to Veronica, "Please, what kind of friends do you think we are?"

"Only the best kind." Taking a sip, she moved over to give Logan a kiss as he flipped bacon on the frying pan, "You better watch out or you're going to get stuck with a whole village of squatters on your hands."

"I think I can manage," he assured her.

A phone vibrated against the counter, causing them all to grimace slightly. It was possible that it sounded a lot louder given their current hung-over state. She watched as Wallace scooped it up, realizing too late that it was her own. "Hey, V. Why is my brother sending you a text saying Rachel got the letters for you?"

_Sorry Darrell, looks like your secret might be out_.

And it looked like it was back to work for Veronica. There were no days off in the PI world.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thank you all for the feedback last chapter. I know it was slightly controversial, but it needed to be done for everything to be able to move forward. There's a reason and a pay-off for everything I do, I promise. Don't be too hard on Wallace, either. His heart is always in the right place and in my head, he did try to warn Piz off. As we all know though, sometimes texts and voice-mails don't reach you in time. ****Now back to your regularly scheduled programming. **

_Chapter Nine_

After everyone had left that morning, the house had fallen into a kind of odd silence. It wasn't as though the small beach front property was not normally quiet, as long as Dick wasn't throwing one of his weeknight parties, but it felt different than usual. More empty after Veronica and her friends had left.

Logan sat at the kitchen table now with one leg curled up against his chest, his arm wrapped around it as he read _The Night Circus_. It was something that Veronica had lent to him before his last deployment. The edge of the pages were slightly frayed and a little salt stained from having been devoured several times over since then. Who would have pegged either of them as the type to read books about a love affair between tragic star-crossed lovers spanning years and continents with lives ruined and bloodshed?

"Hey, dude."

Looking up from over his book, Logan took in the sight of his best friend. Dick was by the back door now, water dripping off his body and pooling at his feet on the floor. He had a towel thrown over his shoulders, but was making no move to dry himself off. There was something about the way Dick looked standing there, soaking wet, that made him pause. A seriousness to his blue eyes that was unusual. Logan sat up a little straighter, "What's up?"

"Beav-" Dick cut himself off, pausing for long moment, and Logan watched his friend carefully, trying to read the expression on his face. Dick was hesitating, struggling to find the right words. He hadn't talked about Cassidy in a long, long time. "My brother," he started again, "He really cared about Mac, didn't he?"

This caught Logan off guard. Talking about Beaver was one thing, but Dick had never really commented or questioned Cassidy's relationship with Mac before. At least, not to Logan's knowledge. He knitted his eyebrows together and shook his head, "I think he did." The memory of Mac in the hotel room the night Cassidy jumped was clear in his memory now. The room stripped, Mac wrapped in a towel, huddled by the bed, broken and alone, even as Veronica rushed to her side. He didn't need to tell Dick the details of that moment though, and Logan really did think that Cassidy had cared for Mac.

There was no way to know what he had been thinking at the time, but Logan wanted to believe he had been trying to protect her, in his own twisted way. Not everything about him could have been bad, could it? _But he raped Veronica,_ Logan had to remind himself. That night at Shelly Pomroy's, before Duncan had found himself in the room with her, Cassidy had raped Veronica. There was a cold knife of hatred that twisted in Logan's gut when he thought about it

"You know, he signed her yearbook." Dick was swaying slightly by the door, his wet suit hanging limply around his hips. "Wrote her this, like, long letter full of sentimental crap and inside jokes."

The existence of Mac's yearbook in her apartment was suddenly explained to Logan. A single token of proof that Cassidy had once potentially cared about her, that their relationship hadn't been all bad until the moment he had left her alone in a hotel room and almost killed her best friend. He didn't know a whole lot about her, but Logan could relate. Hadn't he once clung to the few good memories of his father a long time ago? Before he found out that Aaron had murdered Lilly. Before Aaron, also, almost killed Veronica.

Dick was still talking, "I don't really have anything like that, you know, to remember him by."

The book that Logan had been reading moments before was long forgotten now. He flipped it closed to the cover and pushed it away on the table. They never really talked this seriously, Logan and Dick. They had always just existed alongside each other, silently there for whatever the other needed (or in Dick's case, usually less than silent). So, if Dick wanted to talk now, he would have Logan's full attention. "Maybe you should talk about him. With Mac."

The blonde surfer made a face then and shook his head, "Nah. I already talked to her about him once." For the second time now, Logan was surprised, that Mac and Dick had ever talked was new information. "I don't really think she wants to listen to anything I have to say, anyway."

"Maybe you should just try," Logan offered, "Otherwise, you know, we can just hit the water, catch a few waves and you can talk to me." The words felt foreign on his lips as he said them.

"What, are we chicks now?" Dick shook his head, "Dude, you've been spending too much time with Ronnie. Are you going to want to braid each other's hair and watch _Mean Girls_ next?"

Ah, and there was his best friend. Back to being classic Dick again. There was still something different about the way Dick shrugged him off now though. Maybe inviting Dick to hang out with Veronica and her friends the night before hadn't been a bad idea after all.

As Dick disappeared from the doorway, Logan moved to pick up his book again. Even as he opened back up, he knew that he was too distracted to keep reading. All these years had passed without any of them fully dealing with the crap they had lived through as teenagers. He and Veronica were only just beginning to work on their issues, approaching their relationship like adults for once. It was time for them all to move on. It was time for them all to grow up.

And maybe they were finally all ready, too.

* * *

Wallace had disappeared to order food at the front counter as they waited to meet with Darrell and Rachel. Though Veronica had insisted on coming alone, for fear of spooking the teens, her best friend would hear nothing of it. _Is this the new trend in Neptune? Ignore Veronica's orders to stay put._ Everyone seemed to have taken a page from the Mars handbook lately, Zoey White, Logan, and now even Wallace. It was much less amusing when it was being used against her.

By the time her best friend reappeared, Veronica was lost in thought. Her arms spread out across the table, her chin resting gently on her hands. "You know what I miss?" Wallace asked as he took the empty seat next to her again. Slightly startled, Veronica forced herself to sit up as Wallace slid a slice of cake onto the surface of the table between them.

Her attention snapped back to the present, eyes alert and sparkling with their regular mischief, Veronica tilted her head to the side and answered smartly, "Michael Jordan's illustrious movie career?" She plucked a fork up off the table now and dug it into the creamy chocolate icing on top of the cake. Wallace retaliated by poking his own fork at her when she did, the two of them bumping elbows playfully as she stole a bite.

He shook his head, "No, the good old days when you used to work at Java the Hut and I got to cake for free all day." Veronica laughed and rolled her eyes at him. "Do you know how much this cost me? _Eight_ dollars."

Pressing her lips together, she sighed in disapproval, "Damn, they are just robbing us blind. I really think we should go to the press with this. Café over-charges Wallace Fennel for cake."

There was a long pause and when Veronica turned her head slightly to the side to look at the man sitting next to her, her fork sticking out of her mouth as she licked it clean, she noticed immediately the serious expression as he watched her. "What? Do I have something on my face?" She moved her hand to wipe at her cheek, but he was already shaking his head. This was the look he had always given her when there was something on his mind, something he didn't know quite how to approach her with. It was as though she wore a sign around her neck that read _Proceed with Caution_. In all fairness though, she probably did.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," he offered. It was the first real apology for the Piz incident the day before, but Veronica had already moved on from it. There were other things that she had to worry about than being mad at Wallace for his monumental lack of judgment and failure to warn her that she had been walking into a trap. There was a murder to be solved, after all.

"I know," she nodded her head, her voice soft as she met his brown eyes. No, Veronica Mars was not the forgiving type, but she understood that Wallace's heart had been in a good place, that he had only meant well, even if she disagreed with him. They had both screwed up in the past, trying to look out for each other's best interests, so it was hard to hold it against him. Though her stubborn side had tried to for one brief moment, they were cool.

As she glanced towards the entrance again now, she noticed Darrell and Rachel weaving their way in. She nudged Wallace and gave him a stern look, "Go easy on him, okay?"

The younger of the two Fennel boys hesitated when he saw their table. Veronica watched, with some amusement, as every muscle in his body seemed to tense as though preparing to bolt at any second. Credit had to be given to Rachel Martin though, whose hand remained firmly interlocked with his. She was standing by him, good for her.

"At least my brother has good taste," Wallace leaned over, whispering to her.

Veronica furrowed her eyebrow at her best friend, trying to hide her smile. "Keep it in your pants, Fennel. She's fifteen." Cautiously, the couple approached, hovering by the table until Veronica motioned to the empty seats in front of her and Wallace, "He doesn't bite, I promise."

"If I had known I was meeting the family earlier, I would have dressed up a little," Rachel joked and Veronica had to appreciate the quip and the bravery of the youngest Martin girl. She slid into the seat across from Wallace easily and offered him a smile, "Hello, Mr. Fennel."

"Rachel," Wallace nodded his head professionally. Of course they already knew each other, Veronica realized. He was more than just the coach of the Neptune High basketball team, but also taught a few science and health classes. It was still strange, imagining him as a teacher. Then again, he had enjoyed high school a lot more than she had. He'd been the star of the basketball team, popular in his own fashion.

Darrell watched his brother and girlfriend silently, evaluating the situation, before taking his seat next to Rachel. Veronica offered him an apologetic smile when their eyes met. She had warned him, of course, that Wallace would be there, but had not gone into details as to how he had found out in the first place. She hoped that Darrell did not believe she had betrayed his trust.

"You know you could have told me," Wallace was speaking now, forcing everyone at the table to turn their attention to him, "Did you think I was going to disapprove or something? You know mom and I always support whatever you do, D."

His brother just shrugged and Rachel chewed on her bottom lip, they didn't know how to answer that. Veronica thought back to her relationship with Logan the first time around, how she hadn't told Wallace, even when he had confronted her about the late slip she had given Logan. _Secrets are sexy, Fennel, that's why_. Sneaking around, stealing moments, it was fun and yes, a little hot, too. It was also easier than facing the judgment of your remembered clearly the looks that Logan's friends had given them when their relationship had been revealed at Logan's surprise "birthday" party as well. High school kids could be cruel and in the case of Rachel Martin, so could parents.

"Alright, you two can now check _Awkward 'Meet the Family' moment_ off your couples check-list," Veronica pressed her hands down against the top of the table, eager to bail them all out of the relationship conversation, "And we can get on to business."

The teenagers both looked relieved as Rachel nodded her head, blonde curls bouncing in a merry way that seemed as out of place as ever in the moment, and started digging through her bag. Finally, she pulled out a stack of papers, neatly folded and bound together by an elastic, and dropped it gently onto the middle of the table. For just a minute, they all stared at it. A ticking time bomb of evidence sitting inconspicuously in front of them.

It wouldn't be enough to exonerate Ben Adams, the evidence of the baseball bat too great to ignore, but it could potentially be enough to shed a shadow of doubt over his guilt. And to give the case a new suspect. Of course, for that to happen they had to bring this information to the Sheriff's department, a notion that made Veronica cringe inwardly.

Their other option, of keeping it to themselves and potentially being arrested for obstruction of justice later, was even less appealing though. Veronica knew that the new Sheriff Lamb, like his predecessor, would love nothing more than to have a reason to put her in handcuffs (again).

* * *

After dropping Wallace off, Veronica had made a stop at Mars Investigations. While she had come to the conclusion that she needed to hand everything over to the Balboa County Sheriff's department, there was no way that she would do so without getting photocopies first. She liked to stay head of the law at all times, especially in Neptune, and she knew that once she had given everything to Lamb, she would never see any of it again.

And now that she sat across from him, she was fully prepared. She had the upper hand.

"Veronica Mars," Dan Lamb propped his feet up on the desk in front of him, leaning lazily in his chair, "To what do I owe the pleasure? Do I have a criminal in custody you would like to bail out?"

"That depends," Veronica said thoughtfully, tilting her head to one side, "How many innocent people have you arrested today? This week? Is it too big a number? I have a calculator for you, if it'll help you add them all up." She held up her phone, just a hint of a smirk tugging at her lips.

Lamb, however, looked less than impressed by her. He waved a hand in the air, "Yeah, yeah, just get on with it already. Some of us have actual, important jobs to do."

"Is that what you call the daily Sudoku?" There was no way that Veronica was just going to willingly hand the papers over without just a little of her regular Mars charm. Especially since the last two big cases he had been left in charge of, she had been the one to solve. "I've got something for you, regarding the Eve Martin case. Who knows, maybe third time's a charm and you can actually solve this one without my help, have the real killer arrested for once."

"How about you just hand over your so-called evidence before I arrest _you_?"

"So snippy this afternoon," she mock pouted and reached into her black leather tote bag, pulling out the stack of papers Rachel had left her. "The victim's sister, Rachel Martin, left me these. Apparently, they were being stalked and blackmailed."

Lamb rolled his eyes, "Is this where you start pointing fingers at the son of one of my deputies? Eve Martin and her friends were already in here about that and I shooed them away. What makes you think I'm going to buy it this time?"

"Because this time I have evidence," she motioned to the papers with her eyes, "And because I'm not accusing Holden Masterson of anything, just giving you a paper trail to follow."

The skepticism in the Sheriff's blue eyes was evident. He trusted Veronica as far as he could throw her and she didn't blame him. She had made him look pretty incompetent in the media a few times already. The feeling was, of course, mutual, but she was just trying to cover all of her bases in this case. If she could avoid coming to him at all, she would have, but the Sheriff's department had resources that Veronica needed. Resources that couldn't just be hacked by her best friend, the computer wizard.

Slowly, Lamb reached out and took the papers from her hand, "I'll have someone look at this stuff, see if it leads anywhere." It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. Veronica was never one to sit back and wait while someone else did the legwork though. She was too invested in the case and Lamb had reminded her that it was time for her to talk to Holden Masterson.

* * *

The first thing that Veronica noticed about Holden Masterson was that he was big. The eighteen year old Neptune High Senior was a hulking 6'4" and 220 pounds. He was built like a football player and, as Wallace had informed her, was actually one of the best Neptune High had to offer before he had blown out his knee early in the season. Another athlete whose dreams of playing professionally down the drain. It seemed to be the trend in town lately, with Benjamin Adams getting kicked off the baseball team because of Eve Martin later that same year.

Of course, Holden's academic records weren't as outstanding as Ben's, who still had a shot of getting scholarships and making it into good colleges if he pushed himself next year. Holden was _just barely_ passing his senior year and Wallace told her that if he failed his health final next week, he'd be in summer school, or worse yet, repeating his final year of high school.

The _man_ standing in front of her now was a far cry from the sensitive boy that Veronica had once babysat. She remembered the tears that had been spilled over scraped knees and the sadness that he seemed to have carried with him everywhere at the absence of his father. Deputy William Masterson was a workaholic. Taking doubles whenever he could, working overtime on his cases. A wonderful law-enforcer, but a pretty shitty father. There was an air of confidence to Holden now that had never been there before and a bitterness in his eyes that immediately put Veronica on alert.

While a Porsche was hardly in the Masterson family budget, they still lived in the small two bedroom house they had for over a decade, Holden definitely fit the description of the man seen fleeing the Martin house on the night of the murder. Not to mention, the allegations that Zoey White had brought forth of him stalking Eve made him look suspicious enough for Veronica to check him out. She was going to leave no stone unturned.

"Veronica Mars?" there was an ounce of confusion to Holden Masterson's tone when he saw her. She couldn't blame him. It had been years since she had last babysat him, and it wasn't as thought they had kept in touch. Her unannounced visit was nothing he would have expected, which is exactly how she wanted it to be.

"I don't know what your dad was thinking," Veronica shook her head, feigning disbelief. "You're definitely a little too old for a babysitter these days." She watched as Holden reacted, rather slowly, to her being there. He glanced furtively behind him and his arm twitched as though he were about to slam the door in her face. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," she warned, "Unless you want to look really guilty. Are you feeling guilty about anything, Holden?"

"What do you want?" His tone was immediately defensive, which gave Veronica the satisfaction of thinking that he was, indeed, feeling guilty.

She shrugged, "I thought we could have a chat, catch up on the last ten years, watch _Hercules _for old time's sake, and then maybe you could tell me about your relationship with Eve Martin."

"I didn't have any kind of relationship with her," Holden let out a long, exhausted sigh. Which was a mistake because it was not at all the kind of punctuation that should have followed that statement. He was lying and they both knew it.

"That's funny," Veronica squinted her eyes at him slightly, "Because her best friend told me that they went to the Sheriff's department to try and get a restraining order against you. That seems a little weird for someone you didn't have a relationship with."

Another sigh, "She didn't get one, did she?"

"No," Veronica conceded, "But that doesn't mean anything considering your dad is a deputy and even Sheriff Lamb knows how to look out for his own. So, why was Eve Martin going around telling her friends that you were stalking her?"

"I don't know." His voice was too forceful, too aggressive. It was another lie.

"The more you lie, the deeper you bury yourself."

"Look," his hand dropped from the front door, defeated, as he took a step forward onto the porch. His tone softened and he spoke just above a whisper, as if there might be someone listening to him talking, as though he was about to say something potentially damning. Veronica hoped he did. It was so nice when they tied their own noose. "Eve came to me for help. She told me that someone was out to get her, wanted me to look out for her, find out who it was. Then all of a sudden, she's telling people I'm stalking her, I don't know why."

Confused, Veronica frowned. None of this made any sense with the narrative that was being painted by the other people in Eve's life. Or by Eve herself. "Why would she come to you?"

Holden rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged his shoulders. Veronica knew that shrug well. It was hard to explain, it said, it was a long story. She had given it plenty of times in the past, too. Why was a teenage girl running around town solving murders, nailing cheaters to the wall, seeking out rapists and petty criminals. It was a long story. "I used to want to go into law enforcement, like my dad. Like my older brother. I thought it was really cool, you know?"

Veronica nodded her head. Of course she knew exactly what Holden was talking about. "What changed?" she asked, feeling like she knew the answer to that, as well. The town had changed, the meaning of the badge had changed when Don Lamb had taken charge. It was tainted now.

"My girlfriend, Ella, her brother ran with the PCHers," he continued, "Got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time one day and the Sheriff's department pinned a hold-up on him because he had the wrong skin color and a motorcycle. My dad was the arresting officer, helped plant the evidence and everything." Disappointment saturated every word. William Masterson never have been father of the year, but his son had always respected him before, admired him even.

Acid bubbled in Veronica's stomach. The corruption of the town had made its way into even the most loyal and dedicated of deputies. Neptune had definitely seen brighter days and the look on Holden Masterson's face told her that his story wasn't finished, that there was more to come. There was no light at the end of this tunnel. _Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. Is it possible that Neptune is the hell that Dante was writing about?_ "I know the drill," she said, "A friend of mine had the same thing happen to him a few months back."

"Eli Navarro," Holden nodded his head, "I know the story. He's back running the gang now, taking matters into his own hand because everything's all fucked up. Cesar, Ella's brother, he was stabbed and killed by a Fitzpatrick before we even had a chance to bail him out. No one even tried to help him, they just let him bleed out."

A sad story, no doubt, but it still didn't explain to Veronica his involvement with Eve Martin. Didn't explain how he had gotten wrapped up in helping a scared teenage girl, or on her list of potential murder suspects. "So?" Veronica prodded, trying to get them back on track now, "How does this all lead back to Eve?"

"I was just a kid when you were in High school," he started. It was a history lesson that Veronica didn't exactly need. "But I heard all the stories, you know, of how you worked for your dad. How the two of you solved cases that the Sheriff's department fumbled on, and how you even helped people out at school for cash sometimes. It was pretty cool, the way you got things done around here. You really helped people."

At this point, Veronica didn't need him to finish. She had put the rest together on her own. Using her as his role model, Holden Masterson had taken matters into his own hand. He had decided to help people, too. "So, you decided to take on a little detective work of your own, and then Eve Martin came to you for help."

"She said someone was stalking her, trying to blackmail her. They were sending her these weird letters, filming her without her knowledge. So, she hired me to figure it out."

"Did she mention that her sister was getting these weird notes, too?" Veronica asked.

He shook his head, "No."

Veronica didn't know what to make of any of this. There was still so much evidence she had to go through, but she hadn't been able to cross anyone off her suspect list yet. Instead, it seemed to grow with every conversation she had. Nothing added up, no one was telling the full truth. It seemed like no one had been even before her investigation had started. The webs of lies all beginning to get tangled up with one another now, the further she dug.

"You know I have to ask where were you on the night of Eve's murder?" A small part of Veronica hoped that he had an airtight alibi with multiple witnesses to account for his presence. At least it would make it easier for Veronica to believe his version of the story. For some reason, she wanted to believe it, too Maybe it was because at the moment, Holden reminded her of herself ten years ago. Neptune had let him down and he had realized that if justice was to be served, he would have to do it himself.

His eyes darted away from her and he shuffled his feet nervously, "I was at the Martin house."

Her heart fell. _How does that song go again? You can't always get what you want, Veronica._

* * *

It was dark out by the time Veronica collapsed onto the couch next to him, immediately burrowing herself into his side. Easily, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and held her in close. She let out a deep, relieved sigh against his chest as Logan's lips brushed the top of her head. "Long day?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." She pulled away slightly and met his brown eyes. There were dark shadows under her blue eyes, her skin too pale for someone who lived in California during the summertime. She was exhausted and it made Logan worry slightly, worry that she was not taking enough care of herself as she launched full throttle into this investigation.

How had he not noticed before, how much this seemed to be taking out of her?

"Maybe you should take a break," he suggested gently, choosing his words carefully. As expected, a wave of defensiveness rose up in her eyes and the tight way her lips pressed together. This was the default Veronica setting whenever someone tried to tell her to take it easy. She didn't like to be told what to do, that had not changed at all. "I'm just saying, you're going to make yourself sick. Let's just go away for a few days, get out of Neptune?"

Veronica shook her head, moving out of his arms altogether now, "I can't. This case…"

"This isn't Lilly, Veronica," Logan frowned, "You solved that already, and you don't need to solve every teenage murder that comes through town just because my dad's slimy lawyer got him off, because I fucked up and destroyed the evidence."

The blonde directed a glare at him now. This was not how he had anticipated their night going, especially not after everything had gone so well the night before. He was just worried, not trying to pick a fight with her. "This isn't about Lilly," she snapped, "This is about finding the real killer because no one else will as long as they have someone who looks guilty enough."

_Just like Abel Koontz,_ Logan thought to himself. He didn't say it out loud though, he had learned a long time ago to pick his battles with Veronica. Besides, he knew that she was right. Dan Lamb didn't care if Benjamin Adams had really killed his ex-girlfriend or not as long as he had enough evidence to put him away. As he had tried to do with Logan when Carrie had been murdered. Justice was hard to come by in Neptune these days, but the similarities to what happened to Lilly were too obvious to ignore. Logan still hadn't forgotten the look on Veronica's face that day as they had watched the news story either, there was some part of this that was about Lilly.

He sighed and moved to be closer to her again, hand stroking her hair gently. "I know, and I'm on your side, Veronica. I'm always on your side. I just need you to take it easy on yourself, okay? You can't just do everything on your own. You might not believe it, but you're not actually Batman."

She laughed then, easing the tension out of Logan's chest when she did. "And I finally got the voice right and everything."

This time, when their eyes met, they were both smiling.

"So," she tilted her head to the side after a beat and raised an eyebrow at him, "What was that you were saying about a couple of days away from Neptune?"


End file.
